Australian all-rounder Shane Watson retires from International Cricket

Australian all-round cricketer Shane Watson (34) has announced that he will retire from all forms of International Cricket at the end of the ongoing World T20. He made this announcement at I S Bindra Stadium in Mohali, Punjab. However, he will continue to play domestic Twenty20 leagues, including the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Watson, who is known more for his feats in limited-over cricket, was part of the 2007 and 2015 World Cup-winning squads. He was chosen Australia’s finest cricketer in 2010 and 2011 and adjudged the 2012 World T20 Player-of-the-tournament.

At a glance : Shane Watson 

♦ Shane Watson's full name is Shane Robert Watson. He was born on June 17, 1981, in Ipswich in Queensland, Australia. He plays as a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast-medium swing bowler.

♦ As a fielder, he fields predominantly at first slip. He is currently the world No. 1 all-rounder in T20I. His cricket career spanned 14-years and his debut was in 2002 after he had played his first One Day International (ODI) against South Africa. 

♦ He was declared man of the series in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 for scoring a total of 249 with an average of 49.80, while taking 11 wickets with the ball.

♦ He is the only player to win four consecutive Player of the Match Awards in ICC event history. According to Forbes, Watson was the highest-paid non-Indian cricketer in the world for five consecutive years, 2011 to 2015.

Watson's Cricket Career

⇒ Test Career : Watson had played total 59 test matches and scored 3731 runs at an average of 35.19. His highest score was 176 and total test score comprises of 4 centuries. He had taken 75 wickets at an average of 33.68 and the best bowling is 6-33. 

⇒ ODI career : He had played total 190 ODI matches and had scored 5757 runs at an average of 40.54. is highest ODI score was 185 (not out) and the total score comprises of 9 centuries. He had taken 168 wickets at an average of 31.79 and the  best bowling is 4-36.

⇒ T20I’s career : He had played total 56 T20I matches and had scored 1400 runs at an average of 28.00. His highest ODI score was 124 (not out) and the total score comprises of 1 century. He had taken 46 wickets at an average of 24.71 and the best bowling is 4-1.

⇒ IPL : In 2016 auction, he was bought for a whopping Rs 9.5 crore by the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Awards and Honours :

He holds several records in T20Is and ODIs. He was awarded the Allan Border Medal in 2010 and 2011, thus becoming the second player (after Ricky Ponting) to win back-to back Allan Border Medals.

He won 6 awards in the Tests, ODI & T20I player of the year awards category, which is the most by any player. He is also the only player to be "Player of the Year" in all formats.