JUST IN: Sarfaraz Ahmed announces retirement from international cricket
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Sarfaraz Ahmed guided Pakistan to the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 win, beating India in the final.
Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been in news of late. A few repots emerged recently, which claimed that he is in line to become the next head coach of the Pakistan Test team. But, now the reports seem to have some value as well as well as the former Pakistan captain made a big announcement on March 15, Sunday.
Sarfaraz Ahmed retires from international cricket
Sarfaraz Ahmed, the former Pakistan cricket captain, has retired from international cricket. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shared this announcement on its official website. This marks the end of his illustrious career, which spanned almost two decades.
The wicket-keeper batsman, who won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 as a captain, leaves behind a legacy of substantial contributions to all three formats of the game. Sarfaraz played his first One Day International in 2007, while his Test and T20I debuts came in 2010.
Throughout his international career, the former skipper has played 54 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 61 T20Is for his country, scoring a total of 6,164 runs, which include 6 hundreds and 35 fifties.
His period of captaincy is most remembered for Pakistan’s win in the 2017 Champions Trophy as Pakistan beat India in the final by 180 runs. This ended an eight-year ICC Trophy drought for Pakistan. This win marked Sarfaraz’s achievement of becoming the first and only captain to win an ICC tournament at both junior and senior levels.
Earlier in his career, Sarfaraz captained Pakistan to the ICC U19 World Cup win in 2006 in Sri Lanka, beating India in the final. Apart from bringing glory to Pakistan, Sarfaraz also supported some of the cricketers at the beginning of their international careers. The players include Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, and Shadab Khan.
To mark his contribution to Pakistan Cricket, Sarfaraz was awarded the Pride of Performance award by the government of Pakistan in 2018. This made him the youngest Pakistani skipper to receive the award.
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to represent Pakistan,” Sarfaraz stated. “From leading the U19 team to a world title in 2006 to lifting the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, every moment in Pakistan colours has been special.”
With the reports of Sarfaraz touted as the next head coach of Pakistan Test Cricket Team, he’ll definitely want to bring back the success he enjoyed as a player.
What announcement did Sarfaraz Ahmed make?
Former Pakistan Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed announced his retirement from international cricket.
What is Sarfaraz Ahmed’s biggest achievement as Pakistan Captain?
Pakistan won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 under Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy.
What other trophies did Sarfaraz Ahmed win as a player?
Sarfaraz Ahmed also captained Pakistan to the U19 World Cup in 2006.
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Vishwajit Sawant is a sports content writer with two years of experience who believes in writing that feels honest, simple, and easy to read. He enjoys breaking down sporting moments into stories readers can genuinely connect with, without relying on fancy vocabulary. His work spans cricket, football, basketball, tennis, and Formula 1, with a focus on match previews, reviews, and reports. Vishwajit believes good content doesn’t need to be loud — it just needs to leave a subtle impact.