English player Ian Bell has already announced that he will be formally retiring from professional cricket after the 2020 domestic season.
English player Ian bell has last played for the national team in 2015 but has stayed with Warwickshire since then. Having played professionally since 2004, Bell went to his social media accounts to announce his desire to retire after the ongoing season ends.
In his Twitter account is where he had posted the explanation behind his retirement. A part of it read, ‘It's true when they say you know when the time's right, and unfortunately, my time is now. While my hunger and enthusiasm for the sport that I love remain as strong as ever, my body simply can't keep up with the demands of the game to the standard of which I expect of myself’.
His retirement somehow came as a surprise as he had just renewed his contract with Warwickshire two months ago. However, as he had stated in his official statement, ‘(I) couldn't disrespect the club I love by being unable to play to the level they deserve. It's been an absolute privilege and honour to fulfil my boyhood dream of playing for both England and Warwickshire’.
His official statement also expressed his gratitude to all those that he had worked with in his 22-year career. In response to Bell, Warwickshire’s sports director Paul Farbrace said, ‘Ian will retire from the game as a true Bears legend. He's come through our development system and academy, won every trophy possible, and he has broken club batting records’.
In his international playing career, Bell has played a total of 118 Tests, 161 ODIs, and 8 T20Is. Having scored a total of 7,727 Test runs at an average of 42.69, he is indeed considered to be one of the best batsmen in the world even as he stopped playing for England. To know more about Warwickshire where Bell had spent 12 years and the T20 Blast League where he had played, check out Betwala.
READ MORE: What is the T20 Blast League?
