Zimbabwe all-rounder Elton Chigumbura to retire from international cricket
One of the greatest Zimbabwe cricketers, Elton Chigumbura, will retire from international cricket at the end of the T20I series in Pakistan. The former captain is presently a part of the Zimbabwe contingent, which is in Pakistan for the white-ball leg. Notably, Chigumbura fired a 13-ball 21 in the opening T20I, which Zimbabwe lost by six wickets. Here is more.
Zimbabwe Cricket made the announcement on Twitter
A look at his international career
In an international career spanning over 16 years, Chigumbura has featured in 14 Tests, 213 ODIs and 55 T20Is. He has racked up 4,340 runs from 213 ODIs at an average of 25.23, including 101 wickets. Meanwhile, he also has 569 and 873 runs in Test and T20I cricket respectively. His wickets in the same read as 21 and 16.
Chigumbura was named the captain in 2010
In 2010, Chigumbura was named the Zimbabwe skipper after Prosper Utseya stepped down. However, the former also left the post soon after, and was replaced by Brendan Taylor. In 2014, Chigumbura took the reigns in white-ball cricket, having led till 2016. While he played his last Test in 2014 (vs Bangladesh), his last ODI came in 2018 against the same opposition.
Under him, Zimbabwe won only 20 internationals
Although Chigumbura always bolstered Zimbabwe's batting, his captaincy stints turned out to be forgettable. Under him, the nation could only win 20 out of 80 internationals, losing 60. Notably, he led Zimbabwe to 18 ODI and two T20I victories.
How he fared in domestic cricket
It is interesting to note that Chigumbura made his First-class debut at 15 in 2001/02. Mere two years into domestic cricket, he catapulted to the international fold (2004). He also featured in two ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cups. In his 19-year-old domestic career, Chigumbura has aggregated 5,600 First-class, 7,107 List A and 2,432 T20 runs. He also owns a total of 453 wickets.
