Symonds retires from professional cricket

Former Australia all-rounder Andrew Symondshas retired from professional cricket seeking to be with his family which is expecting the arrival of his first child.

Symonds, 36, had last played for Australia at the 2009 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean. During the tournament, he ran into trouble with the team management. Later, he retired from the national team, focussing his energy on T20 competitions. However, he will not play the IPLthis season.

"Effective immediately, I am retiring from all forms of professional cricket," Symonds said today. "It is with regret that I will not be able to fulfil my final year of the IPL with the Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians and the IPL have both been very supportive of me, but the impending arrival of my first child is a priority."

Symonds first appeared on the big scene as a big-hitting middle-order batsman, a world-class fielder and a seam bowler who could also bowl off-spin. At the peak of his powers, he participated and played significant roles in two World Cup wins and a 5-0 Ashes triumph in 2006-7. 

The dreadlocked cricketer has been at the centre of many controversies on and off the field, most notably for the racism allegations he had levelled at Harbhajan Singh in the Sydney Test of 2007.

Symonds first grabbed international headlines when he smashed a world record 16 sixes in a county game for Gloucestershire against Glamorgan in 1995. He hit four more in the second innings, for a match record of 20.

His ODI debut followed in 1998 in Pakistan, but he didn’t cement his place in the Australian side till the 2003 World Cup. In Australia’s opening game against Pakistan, Symonds smashed 143 after coming into the side at the expense of the injured Michael Bevan and Darren Lehmann who was serving a ban.

He made his Test debut in 2004 in Sri Lanka, but played only 26 Tests. His superlative skills were more suited to limited overs cricket where he made a mark. In 198 ODIs, he scored 5088 runs and took 133 wickets.

His cricketing genius went side-by-side with his penchant for rubbing the authorities the wrong way. In 2005, he turned up drunk for practice ahead of an ODI against Bangladesh. Australia famously lost that game after Symonds was dropped for his indiscretion.

Two years later, he accused Harbhajan of racial abuse, an episode that spiralled into a diplomatic crisis between India and Australia.

In 2008, he missed a compulsory team meeting ahead of a home series against Bangladesh and went finish instead. This prompted the Australian team to ask Symonds to reaffirm his commitment to the team. He wasn’t selected for the tour of India that followed.

In 2009, he was dismissed from the Australian team after drinking in public, something he was contractually bound to refrain from. He continued playing T20 cricket till the 2011 Champions League that concluded in October.