Islamabad
\nPakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim announced on Friday that he would be retiring from international cricket.
\n\u201cIn recent days, I have been doing a lot of thinking about my international career and I have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to announce my retirement from international cricket,\u201d the 34-year-old said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
\nWasim thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for their support over the years, adding, \u201cIt has truly been an honour to represent Pakistan\u201d.
\n\u201cEach of my 121 appearances across the one-day international (ODI) and T20 formats was a dream come true,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting time for Pakistan cricket going forward with new coaches and incoming leadership,\u201d Wasim said, adding that he was looking forward to seeing the team excel.
\n\u201cI now look forward to focusing on the next stage of my playing career away from the international stage,\u201d he said.
\nThe PCB responded to Wasim\u2019s post on X, thanking him for his \u201cservices to Pakistan cricket over the years\u201d.
\n\u201cWishing you all the best for your future endeavours,\u201d the PCB said.
\n\u201cImad Wasim has been a valuable asset to Pakistan cricket. His performances, especially in white-ball cricket, have been crucial to the team\u2019s success. While we respect his decision to retire, we will miss his presence on the field.
\n\u201cOn behalf of the PCB and its management committee, I extend our sincere thanks to Imad for his services to Pakistan cricket and wish him the very best in his future endeavours.\u201d
\nA separate press release issued by the board quoted PCB Interim Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf as saying that Wasim had been a \u201cvaluable asset to Pakistan cricket\u201d.
\n\u201cHis performances, especially in white-ball cricket, have been crucial to the team\u2019s success. While we respect his decision to retire, we will miss his presence on the field,\u201d Ashraf said.
\n\u201cOn behalf of the PCB and its management committee, I extend our sincere thanks to Imad for his services to Pakistan cricket and wish him the very best in his future endeavours,\u201d he added.
\nWasim made his international debut in May 2015 against Zimbabwe and went on to represent Pakistan in 55 ODIs and 66 T20Is. He took 109 wickets and scored 1,472 runs in his international career.
\nWasim\u2019s announcement comes amid an overhaul of Pakistan cricket in the aftermath of disastrous World Cup campaign. Last week, Babar Azam quit the national team\u2019s leadership in all three formats.
\nSubsequently, the PCB appointed opener Shan Masood as Test captain, gave pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi the T20 reins, and replaced team director Mickey Arthur with former captain Mohammad Hafeez while former fast bowler Wahab Riaz was appointed as the chief selector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim announced on Friday that he would be retiring from international cricket. \u201cIn recent days, I have been doing a lot of thinking about my international career and I have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to announce my retirement from international cricket,\u201d the 34-year-old […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-370181","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n