Pakistan batter Azhar Ali to retire from Test cricket after match against England in Karachi | Cricket News
Pakistan batter Azhar Ali will retire from Test cricket after the third and final game of the series against England.
The 37-year-old announced the news at a pre-match press conference on Friday, with the fixture in Karachi from Saturday to be his 96th and final Test for his country.
Azhar has scored 7,097 Test runs at an average of 42.49 with 19 centuries and 35 fifties and is Pakistan’s fifth-leading run-scorer in the format, behind only Younis Khan (10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832), Inzamam-ul-Haq (8,829) and Mohammad Yousuf (7,530).
Saturday 17th December 4:30am
“This will be my last game for Pakistan. I have a lot of good memories to cherish,” said the right-hander, a former Pakistan captain. “This day comes to everyone. I’m happy with my time and the friends I’ve made.
“It has been a great honour and privilege for me to represent my country at the highest level. Deciding on when to call it a day is always tough, but, after contemplating deeply, I realised that this is the right time for me to retire from Test cricket.
“I have been blessed to share the dressing room with some of the most outstanding cricketers with whom I share a strong bond.
“I feel much richer by calling these people my friends. I am also blessed to have played under some wonderful coaches to whom I will always remain grateful.
“I retire from international cricket as a fulfilled cricketer who ticked most of the goals he had set for himself. Not many cricketers go on to lead their country and that I was able to captain Pakistan is a matter of great pride for me.
“From being a kid who started as a leg-spinner to becoming a mainstay in the Test batting line-up, I had the loveliest moments of my life that I will cherish forever.”
Azhar, who sat out last week’s second Test against England in Multan, played the last of his 53 one-day internationals in January 2008 and has never played a T20 international.
Watch day one of the third Test between Pakistan and England, in Karachi, live on Sky Sports from 4.30am on Saturday. The first ball is at 5am.
