Former CSK star & England captain Andrew Flintoff admits, ‘boozing ended my career but now I am sober’

CSK’s Andrew Flintoff – ‘The Book of Fred’: One of the biggest match-winners for England & Indian Premier League (IPL) & Chennai Super Kings (CSK’s) top buy in 2009, Andrew Flintoff has admitted that ‘boozing ended his cricket career’. 

Flintoff has revealed that he found out his cricket career was over after a night out with a rock band. Yes, you read it right. In his book ‘The Book of Fred’, Andrew Flintoff has shared how he has moved seamlessly from the pinnacle in cricket to top heights as a Sports TV and radio presenter.

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Former CSK star & England captain Freddie Flintoff admits, ‘boozing ended my career but now I am sober’

CSK’s Freddie Flintoff – England Captain Andrew Flintoff: Flintoff, who guided England to the famous 2005 Ashes victory, revealed the surprise end to his Test career that coincided with a wild night of drinking with rock band Oasis and Kasabian.

Former CSK star & England captain Andrew Flintoff admits, ‘boozing ended my career but now I am sober’

“The night was certainly wild, like something you would imagine in the early Seventies with the Rolling Stones. Everyone was hammered, the staff were trying to calm it down, guests were complaining. Looking back, part of me was celebrating a great Test match and part wanted to forget about my knee and let off steam.”

He also spoke about his depression and bulimia and how drinking became a part of his life.

“I was battling depression and bulimia, and was always injured. Who else could have achieved what I did with three serious issues stacked against them? I was either hangry — angry because I was hungry — or sometimes hungover,” he said.

• Flintoff also shed light on how injured cut short his career at just 31.
• He began facing ankles issues in 2004 which led to severe bone damage in 2009.
• He suddenly found that his 11 years of an international career ended in no time.
• The allrounder delayed an operation to play Ashes but needed jabs to deal with intense pain.
• When he reached out to the doctors, he was shocked with devastating news— his knee may never repair.
• He retired from Test and limited-overs cricket within one year.

I know everyone’s got a book out and I hate plugging but here’s my new one . Feel free to order , retweet or completely ignore . Thankyou 😘 https://t.co/mFmfXZ1w9K

— Andrew Flintoff (@flintoff11) October 26, 2021

Former CSK star & England captain Freddie Flintoff admits, ‘boozing ended my career but now I am sober’

• Andrew Flintoff was one of the big buys during the IPL 2009. He was purchased by MS Dhoni’s CSK for Rs 7.6 crore. In 2009 it was the highest price paid to any foreign IPL Player.
• However, he played just 3 games and failed to make an impact with both bat and ball.
• He achieved massive success with England amassing over 7000 runs and 400 runs across 79 Tests, 141 ODIs and 7 T20Is.
• He was named Man of the series when England stunned Australia 2-1. Flintoff scored 402 runs and took 24 wickets.
• He is only among ten players on batting and bowling honours boards at Lord’s.
• Flintoff holds the record for most sixes for England in his Test career.
• He is only the seventh player to have batted on all five days of a Test match (in Mohali vs India).
• He began his TV career with Sky One in 2010. He has hosted a number of shows across multiple channels— From BBC to ITV.
• Besides ‘The Book of Fred’, he has also written, ‘Being Freddie,’ ‘Freddie’, ‘Andrew Flintoff, My Life in Pictures’, ‘Ashes to Ashes’ and ‘Good Times, Bad Times’

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