Breaking... Taylor retires

[TapsC2]

Wish him the best.

[secretzimbo]

So many people here simping for Taylor, y'all need to grow a pair... Yes, he has been a great player for Zimbabwe and should be remembered as one of the legends.

BUT at the end of the day, he is old, he has proven multiple times that he is not loyal to Zim cricket, he has clearly been unmotivated for a while (I've mentioned this several times before), he is unfit, he is unhappy, and the time for him to retire was always coming... Why are people surprised?

Time to focus on developing the exciting young crop of batsman we have and move forward. Perhaps Taylor can contribute as a coach in the future?

Not loyal?! Fuck. He deserves a medal for being as loyal as he has been considering the madness he’s had to put up with for 17 years. How could anyone call him unloyal?

Old he may be, fat he may be, unhappy he may be, but still the best batsman in the current team. If you think the team won’t be significantly worse off without him then idk what to say to you.

He’s said in numerous interviews in recent years that he planned for the 2023 World Cup to be his swansong. Do You think that the same people, and the same organisation, that has forced him out early, are really capable of ‘developing the exciting crop of youngsters’ and ‘moving forward’?

As for ‘growing a pair’. Excuse me for feeling emotional at my all time hero retiring from the sport I love.

[ZIMDOGGY]

So many people here simping for Taylor, y'all need to grow a pair... Yes, he has been a great player for Zimbabwe and should be remembered as one of the legends.

BUT at the end of the day, he is old, he has proven multiple times that he is not loyal to Zim cricket, he has clearly been unmotivated for a while (I've mentioned this several times before), he is unfit, he is unhappy, and the time for him to retire was always coming... Why are people surprised?

Time to focus on developing the exciting young crop of batsman we have and move forward. Perhaps Taylor can contribute as a coach in the future?

This is a largely stupid take based on some fact, no offence.
He should be there until the next WC

[TapsC2]

In 18 months I am sure all of the big 4 will be gone. December will show ZC where we really stand when we play against the Dutch and Afghanistan. An import job is the only way. These kids need another 2 years to be consistent. Hami has a lot of work to do. He doesn't even realize it yet.

The only thing that is honestly really not making sense to me is that ALL of these guys 100% know these kids need 2 years. They know this. They know how painful it was for them to make their way with no senior players. The lessons they missed out on. They know the middle generation of batsmen is non-existent. Why walk away now when you know how much is at stake? Is 18 more months of cricket really impossible for them after all the shit they have already been through? It's a genuine question

You see when Jarvis left I think he looked around and realized that he is a big loss but there is Blessing and he even mentioned Ngarava coming along. Its pretty obvious Ngarava is not there yet but he isn't too far. He is 24. These batsmen are all 21 and below. that is just not right. There is no way Rajput is worth all this.

[slcricfan1]

In 18 months I am sure all of the big 4 will be gone. December will show ZC where we really stand when we play against the Dutch and Afghanistan. An import job is the only way. These kids need another 2 years to be consistent. Hami has a lot of work to do. He doesn't even realize it yet.

The only thing that is honestly really not making sense to me is that ALL of these guys 100% know these kids need 2 years. They know this. They know how painful it was for them to make their way with no senior players. The lessons they missed out on. They know the middle generation of batsmen is non-existent. Why walk away now when you know how much is at stake? Is 18 more months of cricket really impossible for them after all the shit they have already been through? It's a genuine question

You see when Jarvis left I think he looked around and realized that he is a big loss but there is Blessing and he even mentioned Ngarava coming along. Its pretty obvious Ngarava is not there yet but he isn't too far. He is 24. These batsmen are all 21 and below. that is just not right. There is no way Rajput is worth all this.

is this just rajput though? I thought he was gpong to leave??

[Kriterion_BD]

When Williams retired the cricinfo article mentioned senior players expressing doubt as to qualifying for the 2023 WC. If ZC has told Big 4 they won't be considered for 2022, then the timing makes more sense. Perhaps they don't want to risk their legacy with 2 failures at the WCQ. With no world Cups to motivate or incentive extending their careers, perhaps now is the best time to walk off.

[Jemisi]

Of course the day was coming but it is still hard News to take.

[Zimco]

What disappoints me is that first odi against Ireland the team looked so strong for once we had our best lineup. I thought that team could hold out to the next world cup.

It must be so disruptive with players mentioning retirement all the time.

Taylor will be a huge loss it's like losing sangakarra for sir Lanka or ab de Villiers for SA. Both nations are still struggling to replace them and it will be the same for Zim.

I think Pakistan is the best at retaining older players.

[tej_27]

Absolutely terrible ..this is the worst feeling I have had in years ...timing is so wrong just when it seemed we have assembled the best 11 after a very long time this happens ..I wish he somehow reverses his decision and stays till 2023 worldcup I mean that's only two years away infact WCQ is even less than 2 years away ...also he needed just 109 runs to surpass Andy flower for most odi runs for zimbabwe

[CrimsonAvenger]

Yes, we could see this coming for about a year now. Given the approach BT had towards the matches, it was obvious that this was round the corner. But he could have done this at a home series though, with the home crowd bidding him good bye.

It was definitely more scary to hear the news about Williams and Raza as they still have a couple of years to offer (whether they do or not is another story altogether). But a great career nonetheless. Best wishes to him in his post retirement endeavors. Hope he can gets those 110 runs (or at least the 69) he needs to create history today...