Azhar Ali announces retirement from test cricket

Karachi: The former captain of national team and Pakistan’s top batter, Azhar Ali Friday announced retirement from test cricket.

While addressing the press conference in Karachi, Azhar said: “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”.

He added, “There are many people who I am grateful to in this strenuous, yet beautiful journey. I want to make a special mention of my family without whose sacrifices; I would not have been where I am today. My parents, wife, siblings, and children have been my strength throughout”.

He further added that he retired from international cricket as a fulfilled cricketer who ticked most of the goals.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja stated: “Azhar Ali has been one of the most committed and loyal servants of Pakistan cricket. His grit and determination have been an inspiration for many young cricketers and he is a role model for up and coming cricketers”.

Azhar Ali's international career

The 37-year-old cricketer is Pakistan’s one of the most successful batters and will hang his boots following the third Test against England, which begins on Saturday.

With 7,097 runs in 96 matches at an average of 42.49, Azhar is Pakistan’s fifth leading Test run-getter behind Younis Khan (10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832), Inzamam-ul-Haq (8,829) and Mohammad Yousuf (7,530).

In 2010, the then 25-year-old made his Test debut in England against Australia at Lord’s and scored his maiden Test half-century in only his second match. He would score 34 more half-centuries and went past the 100-run mark on 19 instances.

Azhar is the only Pakistan batter to score a triple-century in a pink-ball Test - a feat that he achieved against the West Indies at Dubai in 2016. That unbeaten 302 remains his highest score in Test cricket.

Over the course of his 12-year career, Azhar also made two double-centuries – 226 against Bangladesh in Dhaka (May 2015) and 205 not out against Australia in Melbourne (December 2016) - and has, at least, one century in Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, the West Indies and Zimbabwe.

In 2014, Azhar scored a century in each innings (109 and 100 not out) to help Pakistan win the second Test against Australia.

Azhar captained Pakistan in nine Tests in two separate tenures from 2016 till 2020.

The cricketer retired from One-Day Internationals (ODI) in 2018 – a year after helping Pakistan win the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2017.