Was 2022 The Year Of Retirement? List Of Sports Superstars Who Retired In 2022

2022 – There is something about 2022. The past year seems like the year of conclusions and many situations. A year that has seen the T20 World Cup, Asia Cup, FIFA World Cup and so many formats and competitions across so many sports in what has been a crazy schedule. The modern sports calendar is not at all forgiving. The emergence of all-format special teams has had a big role to play in that. A country’s test side is playing a five-day test from Monday to Friday. And in between those five days, another set of players from the same country are playing 2 ODIs in the same time span. 

There is so much talk about fatigue, mental health and the need for downtime for these players. But when they even get some time off national duties, most of these players choose to play in lucrative cash-rich leagues and get a bigger paycheck rather than rest at home.

But time catches up with all of us. Fatigue is a factor that we don’t factor in as much as we should. There have been a lot of things that these players forget when they are in that play-zone. And then all of a sudden, there’s a long-term injury or some physical and mental health issue that forces them to sit aside. Modern sports is laden with injuries and doubts. Maybe that’s why players from this era might not have such a long career like the Sachins, Messis & Ronaldos. 

Let us look at some big players across all sports who have retired and parted ways with their favourite sport in 2022 – the year of retirement. 

Roger Federer – Perhaps one of the best sportsmen and one of the best tennis players of all time. Roger Federer is a name that needs no introduction. He has been playing well at the highest level and dominated the game with hard work, talent and grace. After a very successful long career that has made him one of the best tennis players of all time, he finally decided to hang up his boots in 2022.

Eoin Morgan – Eoin Morgan is another name that needs no introduction. England’s all-time leading run scorers and a legendary captain under whom England played the best white ball cricket also changed how the game was played. Under his captaincy, England even won the 2019 World Cup. He decided to hang up his boots just before the T20 World Cup 2022 as he thought someone else would be better off taking his place. He retired as a World Cup captain and quite selflessly too.

Aaron Finch – Aaron Finch decided to retire from the ODI format after age was catching up with him. He decided he would focus more on T20 cricket and try to have a long career in that format only. Finch has also won the 50-over World Cup with Australia in 2015 and the T20 World Cup in 2021. He finally decided to end his 50-over career in 2022.

Ben Stokes – One of the biggest match winners of the modern-day era. Remember how he single-handedly helped England win the famous Headingley test. And then repeated the same thing in the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand when England needed him the most? And then again in the current 2022 T20 World Cup final where he was the man of the match. Unfortunately, Ben Stokes decided to retire from the ODI format just before the world cup as he wanted to focus on tests and T20Is.

Robin Uthappa – Robin Uthappa is one of the most stylish players to have played for India. He is a prolific batsman who was also a part of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup-winning squad. He has won IPL titles with KKR and CSK. Robin Uthappa announced his retirement from all formats of cricket in 2022. 

Suresh Raina – Suresh Raina announced in 2022 that he has decided to retire from all formats of cricket. He has not turned into a successful commentator. He is one of India’s best left-handed batsmen and one of India’s most brilliant fielders. He was a dependable left-handed batsman and he surely will be missed. 

Kieron Pollard – Kieron Pollard is the latest name that has joined this list. Just a few weeks ago he announced that he is retiring from the IPL and will be the batting coach of Mumbai Indians. He had already retired from International cricket but he was one of Mumbai’s key assets in the IPL. He has been one of the best finishers and six hitters in the IPL.

So as we can see, many players have retired from their favourite sports in 2022. This is why we can clearly say that 2022 has been the year of retirement where many modern-day greats have parted ways with their favourite game. And with the current FIFA World Cup going on, there might be more names that can get added to this list.