When athletes decide the right time to retire

For most athletes the end comes abruptly. But some like P.R. Sreejesh are prudent enough to leave on their own terms

- Shrenik Avlani

All through April the Indian Premier League (IPL) was in full swing, and then came the cross-border tensions. On either side of that tense week, two of India's greatest World Cup winning batsmen announced their retirement.

Before the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the squad for India's forthcoming tour of England in June, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli decided that the time was right to step away. To retire from a profession, in this case a highly skilled and niche one, is a very personal life event. Yet, it isn't as if millions of fans hadn't voiced pretty strong sentiments in favour of Kohli and Sharma retiring after India lost the away Test series in Australia in November-January.

2024 was a big year for retirements, not uncommon, especially after a mega sporting event like the Olympics. Tennis legend Rafael Nadal put down his racket for good. Football royalty Toni Kroos won the Champions League with Real Madrid, turned out for Germany one last time in the Euros and called time on his glorious career. Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from Test cricket midway through India's tour of Australia.

One of world hockey's best and India's most successful goalkeeper, P.R. Sreejesh, won his second consecutive Olympic bronze medal in Paris 2024 and left on a high.

With tennis star Novak Djokovic, 38, basketball legend LeBron James, 40, world football's biggest stars Cristiano Ronaldo, 40, and Lionel Messi, 37, advancing in age, this year is likely to see a few more retirement announcements.