Port of Spain, July 19 (UNI) West Indies veteran Lendl Simmons on Tuesday announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate retirement. Simmons announced the news on his Twitter, with the talented batter finishing his career with a total of 3,763 runs for West Indies from 144 matches across formats.
“When I wore the Maroon Colours of the West Indies Cricket for the first time on debut in ODIs on December 7th, 2006, little did I know that my international career would have lasted 16 years but my passion and love for the sport fuelled me every day,” he wrote in a message on Twitter. “I’m closing this chapter of International Cricket having played 144 matches and scoring 3,763 runs from all formats.
“I still do extensive training and keep myself relatively fit, so my focus is to continue to playing franchise cricket for as long as my body permits,” he wrote. “Hopefully, I can continue to entertain the people of my region and all over the world for a few more years as I’m still timing the ball beautifully and beating bowling.” He has indicated that he will continue to play domestic T20 tournaments, with the dashing right-hander having previously won two IPL titles with the Mumbai Indians last decade.
The right-hander is best known for his exploits in ODI cricket having made two tons and 16 half-centuries for the Caribbean side. Sim- mons helped West Indies claim the 2016 T20 World Cup in India with his superb unbeaten half-century against the hosts in the semi-final at Wankhede Stadium one of the highlights of his career. The announcement came less than 24 hours after fellow Windies international Denesh Ramdin called time on his international career.
