6 International Cricketers Who Are Doing Well After Retiring As Players

International cricketers, vast and varied, have made a good living for themselves since retiring from Test, ODI and T20I competition.

There are many good examples of batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders who have left playing the game behind for other careers. Others have remained in cricket, but not in a playing capacity. Here, we take a look at a few former players who have made a good go it.

1. Shane Warne

Warne was an outstanding leg-spinner whose international career spanned 15 prolific years. He was a veritable superstar for Australia. Since retiring his professional playing days, Warne has become a brand ambassador for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He, of course, won the title with the franchise as their captain during the inaugural IPL in 2008. That victory certainly helped him land the gig he has today. He is adored in India – and the brand value he brings to the Royals franchise is nearly priceless.

They remain a firm pick on betting sites for Indian punters due to his contribution on the field previously and off it these days. 10CRIC, for example, have the Royals priced at 21.0 to win the 2020 IPL. With bet365, you can back Royals stars like Jofra Archer (20.0) to be the tournament’s top bowler. Or there is Jos Buttler at 50.0 in the top batsman markets. It’s still relatively early days in the competition, so these odds are not all that long, especially based on the current superb form of Archer and Buttler.

2. Paul Reiffel

Reiffel is another Australian who played plenty of international cricket. Since retiring, he has remained in the game in an umpiring capacity. He is one of the International Cricket Council’s go-to resources when they need an experienced official in Test, ODI and T20I series around the world. Reiffel was arguably a conservative cricketer, and this probably shows in his umpiring, too. He isn’t trigger happy and makes informed decisions before raising his finger, if at all.

3. Zafar Ansari

Ansari all but shocked the cricketing world in 2017, when he retired from international cricket at the mere age of 25 years old. He had collected three Tests and ODI for England at the time and looked set for a promising future. But that all came to a halt when Ansari announced he was quitting the game. He had previously suggested this would happen, but several fans didn’t think he would follow through. Well, he did, in order to take up a career in the corporate world. By most accounts, his pursuits in law and other related fields are going well.

4. Gary Kirsten

Kirsten is the quintessential example of a good cricketer, becoming a great coach. After retiring his playing days as a steely left-handed batsman for South Africa, he went on to coach them to the number one position in the ICC’s rankings for Test teams. He also led India to a World Cup title. Nowadays, Kirsten is still coaching with the Durban Heat in South Africa’s Mzansi Super League and the Welsh Fire in the United Kindom’s The Hundred. He remains a popular figure in India, of course, having been involved in the IPL as well.

5. David Boon

Onto yet another Australian who has made a success of the game beyond his playing days, David Boon is a reputable match referee with the ICC. His staunch moustache was seen on thousands of television screens back in the day when he would be the glue that galvanised the Australian top- through middle-order. These days, the moustache is still there as he sits behind a computer screen to keep an eye on whichever international fixture he is involved in as a vaunted match referee.

6. Kevin Pietersen

Last, but not least, there is Kevin Pietersen. From his days of captaining England and ruffling a few feathers within the England and Wales Cricket Board, he has come a long way and is now a respected commentator. Pietersen is, for some, more relatable – and has much better insight than his colleagues. Why? Well, he played the game at the highest level a lot more recently than, say, Ian Botham, Nasser Hussain and David Gower. So it makes complete sense that he is more relevant than some to the commentary box.

The gents above certainly did a whole lot better than these guys after quitting their playing days.