Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed on Sunday announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing an end to a distinguished career that spanned nearly two decades.
In a statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Sarfaraz said he always tried to play fearless cricket while building a united team during his time representing Pakistan.
Leadership Across Formats
During his international career, the right-hander captained Pakistan in 100 matches across formats, including 50 One Day Internationals, 37 20 Internationals and 13 Test matches.
Under his leadership, Pakistan achieved the number one ranking in T20 International cricket and recorded a world-record streak of 11 consecutive T20I series victories.
His side also completed six clean sweeps against the West Indies cricket team in 2016 and 2018, Sri Lanka national cricket team in 2017, Australia national cricket team in 2018, New Zealand national cricket team in 2018 and Scotland national cricket team in 2018.
Major Tournament Success
The former captain led Pakistan to victory in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, where his team secured a memorable win against arch-rivals India national cricket team in the final.
Earlier in his career, he captained Pakistan to the title in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2006, marking one of the first major achievements of his leadership career.
Reflecting on his journey, Sarfaraz Ahmed said representing Pakistan was the greatest honour of his life and thanked teammates, coaches, family and fans for their support.
Emerging Stars During His Captaincy
The 38-year-old said watching young players develop into match-winners during his captaincy remained one of his proudest achievements.
Among those who emerged during his leadership were Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf and Imam-ul-Haq.
Memorable Individual Achievements
Among his individual achievements, Sarfaraz took 10 catches in a Test match against the South Africa national cricket team in Johannesburg in 2019.
He also remains the only Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter to score a One Day International century at Lord’s Cricket Ground, which he achieved against the England national cricket team in 2016.
Final International Appearance
The wicket-keeper made his One Day International debut for Pakistan in 2007 and played his last international match in a Test against the Australia national cricket team in Perth in 2023.
Following the announcement, former Pakistan captain Babar Azam said it had been a privilege to play under the leadership of Sarfaraz Ahmed.
In a message posted on X, Azam thanked him for his guidance, belief and the memories he created for Pakistan cricket.
While wishing Sarfraz on his phenomenal careehttps://x.com/76Shadabkhan/status/2033160098332500352r, former captain Mohammad Hafeez wrote, “Congratulations Sarfraz on a successful cricket career. Best wishes for future endeavours. Stay healthy.”
