Five big name international cricket stars who have retired in 2025

Nicholas Pooran shocked the cricketing world after deciding to retire from the international format at the age of 29. It was a huge blow for the cricketing world as the left-handed batter has been one of the most powerful players in the white-ball format. Pooran, who had led West Indies in the white-ball format has been in prime form with the bat as seen during the IPL 2025 season for Lucknow Super Giants. 

Former India batter Aakash Chopra was flabbergasted with the decision and made his feelings clear on his YouTube channel. Chopra said “Everyone is retiring. What exactly is happening? There is a huge list of players who have retired, and it seems like some of them have retired early. Who retires so early? Someone is leaving a format, and someone is leaving international cricket totally. Some are not taking central contracts. Kane Williamson is one of them”

The 48-year-old said “Assuming you are a South African cricketer like Heinrich Klaasen or a West Indian cricketer like Nicholas Pooran, your earning potential to play for the country is so limited that it is not going to suffice. It's easier to pursue if you are with a rich board, but if you are with some other board that doesn't have money, it's easier to say no”

Here are the top 5 international cricketers who retired in 2025

5- Dimuth Karunaratne 

Former Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne quit international cricket at the age of 36 after the two-match series at home against Australia. The left-handed batter played his 100th and final Test match in Galle earlier in 2025. Karunaratne ended his career with 7222 runs with 16 centuries and 39 fifties with an average of 39. Karunaratne also was the fourth highest run getter for Sri Lanka in the Test format behind Angelo Matthews, Mahela Jayawardene, and Kumar Sangakkara. 

4- Heinrich Klaasen 

South African wicketkeeper and batter Heinrich Klaasen decided to hang up his boots in International cricket. The 33-year-old who was playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2025 season. With South Africa set to host the 2027 ODI World Cup and Klaasen who would have been 36 when the tournament came through would have been one of the key players to watch out for. Klaasen retired after playing four Test matches along with 60 and 58 ODI and T20I games. In a recent chat with Rapport, Klaasen said that he had spoken to the coach before deciding to quit international cricket. The 33-year-old said “We talked nicely, we planned everything nicely up to and including the World Cup in 2027. So when he finished as a coach, and the negotiations with CSA over contracts didn't go as planned, it made my decision a lot easier”

3- Marcus Stoinis 

Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis decided to retire just before the start of Champions Trophy 2025 tournament. Stoinis played 71 ODI games and 74 T20I matches for Australia. In the 71 ODI matches, Stoinis scored 1495 runs with one century and six fifties and also picked 48 wickets with a best of 3/16. The former Aussie star had also scored 1245 runs from 74 T20I matches with a career strike-rate of 148 and also taken 45 wickets. 

2- Glenn Maxwell 

ODI World Cup winner Glenn Maxwell decided to call time on his fifty-over format. Maxwell played 149 games and was ten runs short of scoring 4000 runs in the ODI format. Maxwell played a key role with the bat in the 2023 ODI World Cup win which also includes his 201 not out against Afghanistan batting on one leg. Maxwell’s last ODI game was against India in the 2025 Champions trophy scoring seven runs and being smashed for 35 runs from his 6.1 overs without taking a wicket. 

1- Steve Smith 

Veteran Australian batter Steve Smith decided to hang up his boots in the ODI format just like Glenn Maxwell after the CT2025 Semi finals. Smith who was leading the side scored 73 runs from 96 balls in the game and saw his side lose the game by four wickets. Smith, played 170 games scoring 5800 runs with 12 centuries and 35 fifties. The veteran star also picked 28 wickets during his ODI career. Smith was one of the key players for Australia in their 2015 ODI World Cup as well as the 2023 ODI World Cup.