West Indies wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin retires from international cricket: It's been a dream come true

Former West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Denesh Ramdin, who led the team in 17 matches, announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday, July 18.

Former West Indies captain and wicketkeeper-batter Denesh Ramdin on Monday, July 18 announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing the curtain down on a 17-year-long career at the highest level. Ramdin, however, will continue to play franchise-based cricket across the globe.

Denesh Ramdin, who made his debut for West Indies 2005, played 74 Tests, 139 ODIs and 71 T20Is and hit 6 hundreds. Ramdin also featured in the T20 World Cup triumphs of the West Indies in 2012 and 2016. The 37-year-old, however, fell off the radar, last playing a Test in 2019 and white-ball game for the West Indies in 2016.

"It is with great pleasure that I announce my retirement from international cricket. 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," Ramdin said in an Instagram post.

"Even though I am announcing my retirement from international cricket, I am not retiring from professional cricket. I will still be playing franchise cricket around the world...

"I take this opportunity to thank everyone who made an impact on my 14-year career, particularly my family, my beautiful wife Janelle, and our kids for all the sacrifices you had to make for me to be away for long periods of time during my international career," he added.

Ramdin led West Indies in 17 matches, including 13 Tests but the wicketkeeper-batter did not find a lot of success as captain. A solid gloveman and a dependable batter, Ramdin scored 2898 runs in Test cricket and 2,200 ODI runs. He scored 636 runs in 71 T20Is.

Ramdin was no stranger to controversy. The West Indies batter was fined 20 percent when he took out a paper from his pocket that said "Yeah Viv Talk Nah", which was in response to criticism over his poor form from legendary Vivian Richards. Ramdin took out the piece of paper and held it up after scoring a hundred in 2012 in Edgbaston.