Withdrawing retirement is not a new thing in any sport. One of the most high-profile cases recently is that of Ben Stokes. Jos Buttler convinced Stokes to take back his retirement to play in the 2023 ODI World Cup. It would all be worth it if England went on to win the World Cup. That said, a few sports figures have already made this possible in the past. On that note, here, we take a look at the list of two prominent sports personalities who came back from retirement to win a World Cup.
1) Imran Khan
One of the greatest all-rounders that the game has seen, Imran Khan announced his international retirement after the 1987 World Cup. However, after being convinced by the then-Pakistan General, he took back his retirement. Soon after coming back, he showed what Pakistan was going to miss with some fine performances.
Imran was the captain of the Pakistan squad in the 1992 World Cup. He led the team to win its first-ever World Cup. The country is yet to win the title since then. The final against England was also the last match of Imran Khan. He retired from the sport after that.
2) Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is also one of the prominent sports personalities who came back from retirement to win a World Cup. Leo Messi announced his international retirement after failing to win the Copa America in 2016. It was a shock to the football fraternity.
However, within a few months, he made a comeback to the national squad. Recently, in 2022, the Argentine player won the FIFA World Cup. Thus, he is the latest to join this elusive list. It now needs to be seen if Messi would continue his journey for Argentina. There does not look to be any change as he recently was announced in the squad for some international fixtures.