Zimbabwean all-rounder Solomon Mire announces retirement from international cricket

What's the story?

Zimbabwean all-rounder Solomon Farai Mire has announced his retirement from international cricket. The 30-year-old had represented Zimbabwe in 47 ODIs, 2 Tests and 9 T20Is before calling time on his career.

In a career that lasted five years, Mire scored one century and three half-centuries in ODI cricket, two half-centuries in T20Is apart from 14 wickets across the three formats.

The background

Harare-born all-rounder Solomon Mire provided the best of his services to Zimbabwe Cricket in his five-year long career. He played as an opening batsman and even bowled a few overs with his right-arm medium pace.

Mire had made his debut in the year 2014 against Bangladesh but despite proving to be a worthy all-rounder, Mire could not cement his place in the Zimbabwean team.

The heart of the matter

View this post on Instagram

It has been a week of emotional highs and lows in sport and sadly not a good one for Zimbabwe Cricket but just wanted to officially address everyone else. I informed the players and tech staff of my decision at the end of the recent tour and wanted to formally announce my decision to retire from Zimbabwe Cricket in all formats with immediate effect. It is unfortunate and untimely however to leave under the current circumstances that are out of my control but i have decided to take a step in a new direction. Representing my country at the highest level for me has been the highest honour and service i could ever give and I have been extremely privileged to have been afforded the opportunity. My short career has been a roller coaster of highs and lows, stops and starts, frustrations and joys but will be one I shall look upon and cherish for the once in a lifetime opportunity I was lucky enough to experience and for that i would like to express my gratitude. I would like to thank my family across the world who supported me throughout the journey,my team mates, I’ll miss the trips with them, all my coaches who worked with me in one way or another, my close friends for the endless support, my mentors and roles models and anyone who pushed me and challenged me to be a better cricketer or afforded me an opportunity to train and improve . I’ll make a special mention to Midwest Rhinos, Kadoma CC,College CC, Carlton CC, Essendon CC, Tracy Village CC, Waratah CC and last but not least Northcote CC, these clubs were a big part of my journey to international cricket without forgetting the relevant parent associations. Also a big thank you to the sponsors, I couldn’t have done it without you. A special mention to Crusaders, RNS, Icon , Premgripp , Cheetah Recovery and last but not least SG . Also a special thanks to the fans. I can hardly believe that I had fans from across the world, I’m sure most were friends and to the ones I’ll never meet,thank you all so much. I am sure I have missed a few people but I’ll try my best to get in touch personally. I can say without a doubt that sport and in particular international cricket will always be my biggest lesson in life. Ever

A post shared by Solomon Mire (@sol_mire) on Jul 18, 2019 at 8:12pm PDT

Solomon Mire announced the decision to hang up his boots through an Instagram post. He revealed in his long caption that he had informed about his decision to quit Zimbabwe Cricket to his teammates and staff post the Ireland tour.

With some impressive shows all through his career, the all-rounder's century against Sri Lanka at Galle was the highlight as that inning helped Zimbabwe record their first ever ODI victory over Sri Lanka. On the back of some impressive performances for the country, Mire even features in the 2015 World Cup for Zimbabwe.

Though Mire never got a chance to feature in the Indian Premier League, he siged a contract with the Melbourne Renegades in the 2013-14 season of the Big Bash League but could feature in just two matches for the side.

Through the Instagram post, Mire thanked all the sponsors, his fans, his family, his coaches, his mentors and concluded and shed light on the fact that international cricket will always be the biggest lesson of his life.

What's next?

With the Zimbabwean Cricket Board suspended by ICC, Mire's retirement is in all likelihood the first of many retirements, with a number of Zimbabwean cricketers dented by the loss in contracts.

Edited by Prasen Moudgal