Summary Blast veteran won't be back for season No. 24 after prioritising commentary and coaching gigs
LAHORE (Web Desk) - "It's probably been coming for a while," Ravi Bopara says with a smile, as he announces his decision to call time on his playing days in county cricket, bringing a storied career with Essex, Sussex and Northamptonshire to an end.
Bopara is speaking in Lahore, where he is preparing for a second season as Karachi Kings head coach in the PSL. He turned 40 last year and is heading into the next stage of his life: he turned down offers to play in the T20 Blast this summer in favour of a commentary role, and is considering applying to become England's new national selector.
He has appeared in almost every franchise league in the world, and leaves open the possibility of continuing to play occasionally in the English winter moving forwards. But after playing in each of the first 23 editions of the Blast - starting from the second day of its original incarnation as the Twenty20 Cup, back in June 2003 - Bopara will not feature in the 24th.
"I'm not walking away from cricket at all," he insists. "I did think hard about the Blast. That was a really, really tough one to think about. But I'm excited for new things… I've had a good opportunity with commentary, which I think I'd be silly to turn down."
It was 25 seasons ago that Bopara first played for Essex's 2nd XI as a teenager. "It's a tough decision, because I felt like part of the furniture of county cricket for so many years… I feel okay. I feel fine. It's probably been coming for a while, and I think signing out on the Blast with that innings at Surrey in the quarter-finals last year is probably a good way to go."
He is referring to the heady night at The Oval last September, when he blazed 105 not out off 46 balls to take Northamptonshire past a Surrey team brimming with England experience. "We went into that game desperate to get to Finals Day, and it meant a lot to a lot of us. It meant so much.
"I've been incredibly fortunate to play county cricket for 25 years. It's been a huge part of my life. The game in England's given me everything, really. It's given me opportunities. It's given me great memories, and amazing friendships as well. To last 25 years in any sport is something that I'm really proud of.
"I've still got a lot to offer to the game. I'd love to pass on my experience, whether that's mentoring, coaching, or helping younger players… I'm open to new opportunities within the game, whether it's playing in different environments, coaching, or working in different roles. And there's loads of roles: there's not just coaching and commentary."
It is a hint at his interest in the vacancy for an England national selector, which Bopara describes as an "exciting" position. He has not yet applied for the role due to his existing commitments, though believes a similar opportunity could suit him in the future: "I love identifying new cricketers. I feel like I've got a very good eye for what a good player is."
More immediately, Bopara's focus is on the PSL. His Karachi Kings side reached the eliminator last year after his late-notice appointment as head coach, and he says he feels ready to take a more hands-on role this season: "Now it's like, right, these are the types of players I want, these are the roles I need filled, and this is what we need in this league to be successful."
He is only a year older than David Warner, his captain, but frames his proximity to his playing career as a strength. "I thought I was going to get frustrated sitting in the dugout, like, 'Oh my God, what are you doing? We need seven an over, just knock it around!' But I wasn't: I understood the players' perspective, because I'm more recent and I've been there.
"You've got to know how to handle each guy. It can't be one rule for everyone. You're not running an army, at the end of the day. You've got to treat everyone differently, because you've got different personalities… It's about understanding players and making sure they're in the best place to perform because of the pressures they go under. That's one of my strengths."
Bopara's involvement in the franchise world underlines just how much the game has changed from his early years as a professional, when his sole focus was on Essex. "Those were proper fun days," he says, citing captain Ronnie Irani as a major early influence. "Playing under him was the best thing that any youngster could have had. You just wanted to play for him."
He also thanks his early coaches and team-mates at Hainault and Clayhall CC, as well as his parents: "We lived on top of a newsagent. My mum would come down and open the newsagents at six; she'd finish at eight in the evening. My dad would leave the house at seven, get back at 5.30, collect me and my brother in the car and get us to cricket by 6.30.
"It couldn't have been easy for them, but they never said to me, 'You can't play cricket, it's not a job.' Whenever I had practice, or matches out in the sticks somewhere, they never questioned it. They could see that I loved playing. I just remember saying to them, 'I'm putting all my eggs in one basket. This is what I want to do."
But the single biggest influence on Bopara's career was Graham Gooch, his first Essex head coach and thereafter his mentor. "Without Goochy's guidance as a coach, as a batting coach, as a batting mentor, I don't think myself - or even Cooky [Alastair Cook] - would've got anywhere close to playing for England," he says.
"I would play a county game - I'd get out for 15, or nought, whatever - and come into the changing rooms. I'd still have my pads on. I'd look at Goochy - and I'd never call him Goochy to his face, by the way, always Graham - and I'd say, 'Should we gets to the nets?' And he would never say no.
"Think about it now. Imagine a youngster getting out in the first-class game now, walking upstairs in the dressing room and saying to his coach, 'Come straight to the nets?' His coach would tell him to shut the f*** up, basically… But he would just pick up his bag of balls and we'd go and have a net.
"I remember him putting loads of hours into myself and Cooky, and it couldn't have been easy because he was throwing ball after ball after ball after ball. He gave us more volume than batters will get now with a dogstick, which doesn't hurt the shoulder anywhere near as much… That's why we call him the great man. He is the great man of Essex. I've got to thank him for everything he's done."
Bopara recalls fondly his many happy memories with Essex, including their stunning charge to the Championship title as a newly-promoted team in 2017, but one day stands out for him: their Blast triumph in 2019. "Forget about England debut. Forget about Lord's Test match hundred. That is the day where it was just the highlight of my career. It was the best day of my life."
He had always imagined that he would be a one-club man throughout his career, but had resolved by then that he would leave Essex at the end of the season after falling out with the club's hierarchy. He made 36 not out off 22 balls in the final against Worcestershire, and watched from the non-striker's end as Simon Harmer hit the winning runs off the last ball.
He recalls watching a repeat of the game on Sky during the early days of the Covid pandemic. "I'm sitting there watching it on the TV, and I'm crying my eyes out. My mate asked me, 'What are you crying for?' I said, 'Mate, this was my team. I'm not playing for them anymore. This is my family, and I'm never going to play for Essex again now. I'm gone.'
"It was terrible. I really didn't want to go and play any county cricket. I was like, 'Nah, you know what? I'm just going to call it a day. I can't play for anyone else.' But then slowly, it wears off."
After four years at Sussex, including two as captain, Bopara spent his final two seasons as a senior player at Northants and speaks highly of David Willey and Darren Lehmann's leadership. "It felt like those Essex days again… It's when you get those experienced guys who are desperate to win trophies. I've got to say a big thank you to all three counties I played for.
"I'd also like to thank Dean Ahmad, my agent and great friend, who has been great over the past 10 years, and all the members and fans that turned up to watch and support throughout my career. I even had my own song [to the tune of Seven Nation Army] that would get sung at T20 matches, which still amazes me. It gave me goosebumps out in the middle."
But this, Bopara says, is the end of his playing career as a county cricketer. "When the Blast games start and I'm not there, I think there'll be a little bit inside me that's jealous, I'll be honest with you… But it's okay. I've done enough. 2003 was the first year of it, so I've had my fair share."
