‘Álways tried to play fearlessly’: Sarfaraz retires from international cricket

2026-03-15 - 10:14

LAHORE: Former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed announced his retirement from international cricket on Sunday, bringing an end to a decorated two-decade-long 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 formats (50 One Day Internationals, 37 T20Is, 13 Tests) and led the side to the No.1 ranking in T20I cricket. His captaincy saw the green shirts achieve a world-record streak of 11 consecutive T20I series victories and 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 side to victory during the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2006 and a historic win against arch-rivals India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. “It has been the greatest honour 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 colours has been special. I am grateful to my teammates, coaches, family and the fans for their unwavering support throughout my career,” he said. “Captaining Pakistan across all formats was a dream come true ... Seeing players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and others grow into match-winners during my captaincy is one of my proudest achievements,” he added. More to follow.