Lendl Simmons, a senior limited-overs specialist and top-order batsman for the West Indies, announced his retirement from all international cricket on Tuesday. His sports agency, '124notout,' posted a lengthy statement on social media.
The gifted batsman concluded his career with 3,763 runs for West Indies across all three forms in 144 games. Simmons, who is 37, participated in five Tests, 68 ODIs, and an identical amount of T20Is.
For the Caribbean team, Simmons is best remembered for his ODI cricket accomplishments, where he scored two centuries and 16 half-centuries. The announcement came less than a day after Denesh Ramdin, a fellow representative of the West Indies, announced the end of his international career.
The 37-year-old Simmons' highest ODI score was 122 against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2011, although lately he has only played for West Indies in T20Is. One of the highlights of Simmons' career was his outstanding undefeated half-century against the hosts in the semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, which enabled the West Indies win the 2016 T20 World Cup in India.
According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Simmons' last game for the West Indies was against South Africa at the T20 World Cup in Dubai last year. His unbeaten 82 that day was only surpassed at the international T20I level by the unbeaten 91 he made against Ireland at Basseterre nearly four years later.
Simmons, a right-hander who had won two IPL championships with the Mumbai Indians in the past ten years, has said he will continue to compete in domestic T20 events.
"Thank you, but you are still in. In our lifetime, we have witnessed many brilliant cricketers, but few have the inherent ability with the bat as you, Lendl Simmons @simmo54. No practise is necessary. The moment you set foot on the pitch, a celebration begins "124notout posted on Instagram.
You formally informed the West Indies cricket board on Friday that you were quitting international cricket. We would want to salute you as king on your behalf as your agency. You are possibly the West Indies cricketer who is most overlooked on the international stage. You currently hold the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) record for most runs. If anything, your talent has improved since the day you took the field for the West Indies for the first time.
"Because of this, we shall see your declaration of retirement as a resignation and change this into a "refirement". We are about to start your second act together. Ladies and gentlemen, we are prepared to conduct business with the franchise industry as Lendl Simmons is a free agent. Going now @124NotOut " his agency added.