Veteran West Indies batter Lendl Simmons has drawn curtains on his 16-year-long international career on Tuesday. He shared a long note on his social media handles to confirm the development, stating that he would continue paying franchise cricket.
Simmons took to his social media accounts and thanked his friends, family, and fans for standing with him throughout his career.
“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 know that my international career would have lasted 16 years but my passion and love for the sport fuelled me every day. I’m closing this chapter of International Cricket having played 144 matches and scoring 3,763 runs from all formats. I want to thank the West Indies Cricket Team for the opportunities and wish the new crop of WI players all the best and to keep on believing in yourselves and your abilities.
Simmons’ decision comes hours after his teammate wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Ramdin called it quits from international cricket. Earlier on Monday, England all-rounder Ben Stokes also announced that he would retire from ODIs on Tuesday after playing his last game against South Africa and continue to focus on Tests and T20s.
Simmons’ international career spanned 16 years during which he played 8 Tests, 68 ODIs, and 68 T20Is, scoring 3763 runs across all formats. He made his ODI debut in 2006 against Pakistan in Faisalabad. Overall, he scored 1958 ODI runs, including two centuries.
