Former West Indies captain Ramdin retires from international cricket

Former West Indies captain, the wicketkeeper-batter Denesh Ramdin, has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.

"It is with great pleasure that I announce my retirement from international cricket," Ramdin, who last played for West Indies in a T20I in December 2019, said on Instagram. "The past 14 years have been a dream come true. I fulfilled my childhood dreams by playing cricket for Trinidad and Tobago, and the West Indies.

"My career afforded me the opportunity to see the world, make friends from different cultures and still be able to appreciate where I came from."

He will, however, continue to play franchise cricket, Ramdin said. He hasn't found a team at the upcoming edition of the CPL, though, despite having represented Guyana Amazon Warriors, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders from 2013 to 2021. He has also played for Multan Sultans at the PSL, in 2017 and 2018.

Ramdin, who played 74 Tests, 139 ODIs and 71 T20Is, started out in Test cricket, making his debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2005. His ODI debut, against India, followed later on the tour in a tri-series involving the three teams.

He played a part in West Indies' T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016. In the first, he hardly got a chance to bat in seven matches, but effected six dismissals behind the stumps. In the second, he was unimpressive in front of the wickets, with 36 runs in four innings - in six games - at a strike rate 69.23, and had three dismissals behind the stumps.

More recently, Ramdin fell off the radar of the national selectors. His last Test and ODI appearances were back in 2016.

A competent batter usually, Ramdin hit four Test centuries across his career, three of which came away from home. His second Test hundred - against England at Edgbaston in 2012 - caused controversy when he took out a note from his pocket on achieving the milestone, stating "Yea Viv talk nah". This was in response to Viv Richards having questioned Ramdin's poor form in the first two Tests of that tour, where he managed only 51 runs, and wasn't consistent with his wicketkeeping either.

As a result of his antics, Ramdin was fined 20% of his match fee by the ICC.

He was in trouble with the ICC again only a year later, when playing against Pakistan, he claimed a grounded catch off Misbah-ul-Haq in the Champions Trophy. Ramdin had fumbled while trying to take the ball falling forward, but still went up in celebration. On that occasion, Ramdin was suspended for two ODIs, and docked his entire match fee.

Ramdin was named West Indies' Test captain in 2014, taking over from Daren Sammy, who had retired from the format. Overall, Ramdin led his country in 17 matches - 13 Tests, three T20Is and an ODI - before being removed in September 2015, when Jason Holder replaced him at the helm.

The results were mixed. West Indies won four of those 13 Tests, all at home against New Zealand, Bangladesh [two] and England, but lost seven, including five at home. West Indies won the only ODI he led in, while it was one win and two losses in T20Is.

Later, in mid-2016, Ramdin tweeted about his exclusion from the Test side against India before the West Indies squad was made official, triggering some chatter. He had played all three Tests in Australia in 2015-16, scoring half-centuries in Melbourne and Sydney, but never played a Test again.