LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has announced his retirement from international cricket, ending a two-decade career.
In a statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board, Ahmed said he had “always tried to play fearless cricket and build a united team”.
Sarfaraz captained Pakistan in 100 international matches across all formats (50 One-Day Internationals, 37 T20Is, 13 Tests) and led the team to No. 1 ranking in T20I cricket.
His captaincy saw the green shirts achieve a world record run of 11 consecutive T20I series wins and they recorded six clean sweeps against the West Indies (2016 and 2018), Sri Lanka (2017), Australia (2018), New Zealand (2018) and Scotland (2018).
He also led his team to victory during the 2006 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup and a historic victory against arch-rivals India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to represent Pakistan. From leading the U19 team to a world title in 2006 to lifting the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, every moment in Pakistan colors has been special. I thank my teammates, coaches, family and fans for their unwavering support throughout my career,” he said.
“Captaining Pakistan in all formats was a dream come true… Watching players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and others become match winners during my captaincy is one of the achievements I am most proud of,” he added.
More to follow.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1982340/always-tried-to-play-fearlessly-sarfaraz-retires-from-international-cricket