5 cricketers who deserved a farewell match before their Test retirement

To retire from Test cricket after providing the best of your services to your nation is one of the proudest moments for a cricketer. And providing a farewell match is the best goodbye a team can give to their deserving player.

However, there have been several legendary cricketers who just not lucky enough to get a farewell match despite giving their best to the team. To end a career without a farewell match is not an ideal way for anyone to end their career, but sometimes that can't be helped.

Here is a list of five cricketers who deserved a farewell match before their retirement, but didn't get one:

#1 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag didn't get a farewell match

Coming from the town of Delhi, Virender Sehwag didn’t have the kind of ending to his career that he would have wished to have. He retired from Test cricket without a farewell match, despite giving his best to his nation for 12 years.

Despite being an aggressive player, Sehwag was surprisingly just as comfortable in the Test format as he was in ODIs and T20s. In fact, in some ways he revolutionized Test batting, showing the world the value of taking the attack to the bowlers.

Nicknamed 'Viru', Sehwag smashed nearly every bowler in Test cricket to score 8586 runs from 104 matches and a top score of 319 runs. But in spite of being a deserving candidate for a farewell match, he left the game in silence and without much fanfare.

#2 Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag used to open the innings for India. Gambhir stepped into the cricketing world in the year 2004 and left it silently in the year 2018.

During his golden career of 15 years, Gambhir made some unforgettable contributions and created some unique records in his name. He played his last Test match on 9 November 2016 but took the decision to retire in 2018.

In essence, Gambhir waited for two whole years to get one farewell match for India, but he didn't have any such luck. He ultimately retired in December 2018 from all formats of the game, leaving behind his 4154 Test runs and some wonderful memories.

#3 AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers in whites for South Africa

South Africa were extremely lucky enough to have a player like AB de Villiers in their batting line-up. He was a batsman who played fearless cricket and was perhaps the only player in the world who could make the most difficult shots look incredibly easy.

ABD entered the world of cricket on 17 December 2004 as the 296th player for South Africa to play Test cricket. He could bat freely at any position in the line-up, and could hammer every ball outside the park.

Throughout his career spanning 15 years, De Villiers smashed 8765 international Test runs from 114 matches at a sparkling average of 50.66.

In spite of deserving a farewell match, ABD didn’t receive one which led to an unceremonious end to his Test career.

#4 Dwayne Bravo

DJ Bravo was a trendsetter in the world of cricket.

Dwayne Bravo was a trend-setter in the world of cricket. His unique way of celebrating wickets, with some crazy dance moves became famous all around the world.

Bravo was known for his ability of bowling slow yorkers at the death, which troubled even the world’s best batsmen. Bravo was a huge hit for West Indies in the Test format because of his all-round abilities.

He played 40 Tests in his career, scoring 2200 runs at an average of 31.42 along with 86 dismissals with the ball. His best performance with the bat was the one where he smashed 113 runs against Australia in Hobart.

He retired in 2018 from all formats of the game, without playing a farewell match.

#5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

MS Dhoni retired as the most successful captain for India in tests.

Coming from a quaint little town of Jharkhand, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a gift to Indian cricket as he completely changed the team’s fate. Dhoni took the Indian team to a whole new level in all forms of the game.

Dhoni played Test cricket for the first time on 2 December 2005 as the 251st player for India. Through his career, he scored 4876 runs from 90 matches at a strong average of 38.09.

Along with the twin roles of batting and wicketkeeping, one other important role that Dhoni played was the role of a captain who led the team from the front. But the one thing which Dhoni didn’t receive despite being the most deserving candidate was a farewell match.

It was a huge shock for the cricketing world to see Dhoni retire from Test cricket without a guard of honor.