Lendl Simmons

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Simmons was a member of the West Indies team that won both the 2012 T20 World Cup and the 2016 T20 World Cup. In July 2022, he announced his retirement from international cricket. He is named after tennis icon Ivan Lendl.

In Their Own Story

In August 2014, a strange incident occurred while Simmons was traveling between Caribbean Premier League games for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the USA. US customs officials, suspecting his bat contained illegal drugs, drilled several holes into it before allowing him to proceed. Despite such interruptions, his career highlights include massive first-class scores; he holds three double-centuries, with a career-best of 282 against an England XI in January 2009. This innings heralded his Test debut later that month, where he scored 24 and 8 as West Indies secured a series-clinching draw at Queen's Park Oval. In ODIs, he proved his mettle with two centuries: 122 against Bangladesh in Dhaka and another against Ireland during the 2015 World Cup in Nelson, New Zealand—a match where Ireland surprisingly upset the West Indies by 4 wickets.

Reader's Guide

Simmons made his Test debut against England on 6 March 2009 and his ODI debut against Pakistan on 7 December 2006. He has played no further Tests. His highest Test score is 49 runs against Pakistan. He has scored two ODI centuries. In the Indian Premier League, he played for Mumbai Indians in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, scoring his maiden IPL century on 22 May 2014. He was benched for more than half of the 2017 season but later opened after the departure of Jos Buttler. He has remained unsold in IPL auctions since 2018. In the Pakistan Super League, he played for Karachi Kings in the first edition, and later for Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars. In 2023 he played for Bhilwara Kings in Legends League cricket.

Did You Know?

• Simmons scored his maiden ODI century (122) against Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka.
• His second ODI century came in the 2015 Cricket World Cup against Ireland in Nelson, New Zealand, though Ireland won that match by 4 wickets.
• In August 2014, US customs officials drilled several holes into his bat, suspecting it was used to smuggle illegal drugs.