Zimbabwe fast bowler Kyle Jarvis has announced his retirement from all cricket after a year of illness and injury. Having made his international debut in 2009, he played 13 Tests, 49 ODIs and 22 T20Is, picking up 46, 58 and 28 wickets respectively.Fast-tracked into the Zimbabwe side after an impressive performance in the Under-19 World Cup in 2008, he made his ODI debut in the home series against Kenya in October 2009. Jarvis subsequently made it to Zimbabwe's squad for the series against Bangladesh and South Africa, following which he was sidelined after a spate of injuries. His comeback to international cricket coincided with Zimbabwe's return to the Test fold. He made his Test debut against Bangladesh in Harare in August 2011, where he picked up five wickets across two innings.
At 32 he last played for Zimbabwe in a Test against Sri Lanka in Harare in January 2020 since he sustained a lower back injury. As he gradually returned to training, he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and a bout of malaria and tick bite fever at the same time."It was a very difficult decision having to retire and it's something that took me a long time to come to grips with. Nobody wants to stop doing the thing they love," he said on Thursday (June 17). "After my back injury last year, there was a lot of uncertainty whether I would be able to bowl again. After six to eight months out, I was lucky enough to make a full recovery but I knew I had to start planning for the future."
Jarvis had made his ODI debut in 2009 and had a shot at his first Test and T20I outing in 2011. In 2013, he decided to retire from international cricket to pursue County contract with Lancashire in England. He returned to Zimbabwe in September 2017 to play international cricket once again. "Every day wearing the Zimbabwe badge is a highlight and I was very fortunate to be able to represent my country over a 10-year career," Jarvis said. "I will miss walking out onto the field in an international with a close group of friends. A special thank you to my friends, family, Zimbabwe Cricket and Lancashire County Cricket Club for all the support over the years. "I have a business which is fairly new which needs my full attention for now, but I look forward to working with Zimbabwe Cricket in some capacity going forward," Jarvis said. "I certainly want to give back to the game which gave me so much."
