Adam Gilchrist debuted for Australia in ODIs in 1996 and in Tests in 1999 and is credited with changing the role of wicketkeepers in the game of cricket. He went onto play 96 Test matches and 287 ODIs and 13 T20Is for Australia scoring 5570 and 9619, and 272 runs respectively.
He was in terrific form but abruptly decided to retire from Test cricket in midst of the fourth Test against India at Adelaide during the 2008 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Though there were rumors of him calling time during the Test series, given that he had retired from ODIs, during the CB series that happened before the Test series, Gilchrist went into the four-match sojourn rubbishing the rumors.
Indian fielders used to utter a word whenever Harbhajan dismissed me: Adam Gilchrist
However, 12 years after his retirement, Adam Gilchrist revealed the reason behind him announcing his retirement mid-way through the 4th Test. The reason was him dropping a catch of Indian batsman VVS Laxman.
“I reckon it’s a good reason to retire if you drop the catch of VVS Laxman in a Test match. You don’t wanna give him too many chances,” Gilchrist told TV presenter Madonna Tixeira in her show ‘Live Connect’.
“He along with most of the Indian batting line up used to smash us and then Harbhajan would come and bowl us out. So it was pretty easy to get out of there and say that’s me done for a while,” added Gilchrist.
Gilchrist, who has 905 dismissals – 813 catches and 92 stumpings – to his name in 396 international matches, said that he always wanted to retire on a high.
“As far as retiring at the right time I always felt like I rather retire and people say as oppose to play on and people say why haven’t you retired. I think it comes again from the foundations of your life from parents, your upbringing, The people that are around you that’s the way you play your game. Just try and be fair honest about it,” he said.
The left-hander opener, who won three World Cups with Australia in 1999, 2003 and 2007, talked about his infamous ‘walk’ in the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup against Sri Lanka.
“Look I think I was not any crusader to walk out to make other people do it… It’s just the way you play cricket. I think there are a lot of people who walked off a game that aren’t given credit for... It’s just in a World Cup semifinal I did it and a lot of the cricket World paid attention to it and couldn’t believe it but I wish I did not nip the ball that day would have preferred to keep batting ..it’s just the way it went,” Gilchrist said.
