6 Cricketers who retired early to pursue other interests

#2 Zafar Ansari - England

Zafar Ansari - practicing in the nets

Zafar Ansari made his debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka. He played 3 Test matches and one ODI match before suddenly announcing his retirement within few months to study politics and sociology from Cambridge University. Ansari went on to do masters in history and wrote few papers on apartheid

Both his parents were Professor hence he was always more interested in the academics since childhood. Kevin Pietersen, his teammate at Surrey, tweeted: “Way too clever to be a cricketer!”

#1 Fabian Cowdrey

Fabian Cowdrey - Somerset v Kent

Fabian Cowdrey belonged to the legendary "Cowdrey" clan. He was a left-arm spin bowler and right-hand batsman with tremendous abilities and potential. He played 12 First-class games in which his average was 18.6, aggregating 372 runs. Cowdrey also managed to take three wickets, while representing Kent for four seasons from 2013 to 2016. His performance in T20s had been tremendous.

He quit cricket a few years ago, to help his brother, Julius in his artistic endeavors. Cowdrey wrote the debut song of his brother which became a major hit. Post the success of the album he has dedicated himself completely to music.