Azhar Ali announces retirement from cricket, Karachi test to be his last

The
batter
came
to
the
pre-match
press
conference
on
Friday
and
announced
his
retirement.

“I
want
to
welcome
everyone
today.
It
can
get
a
bit
emotional.
It’s
always
a
dream
for
every
youngster
to
represent
Pakistan
at
the
international
level.
And
it
was
an
honour
for
me
to
play
for
Pakistan
and
lead
my
country
in
two
formats
of
the
game.
I
want
to
thank
God
for
the
opportunity,”
Azhar
said
before
the
3rd
test
on
Friday.

“But
everything
has
to
end
someday.
I
want
to
finish
it
on
a
good
note.
I
felt
in
my
head
and
my
heart
that
this
is
the
right
time
to
end
my
journey.
This
is
going
to
be
my
final
match
for
Pakistan.
I
would
like
to
call
it
a
day
after
this
game,”
he
added.

He
went
on
to
thank
PCB,
the
selectors,
his
coaches
and
teammates
of
the
Pakistan
team
throughout
the
years
who
have
been
part
of
his
cricketing
journey.

“I
will
try
to
keep
it
short.
I
have
very
fond
memories
playing
for
Pakistan.
I
cherish
a
lot
of
good
memories.
I
am
very
happy
that
I
have
made
a
lot
of
good
friends
with
players,
fans
who
have
always
been
very
brilliant
for
me,”
an
emotional
Azhar
concluded.

Azhar,
37,
made
his
test
debut
in
2010
against
Australia
at
Lords.
He
has
played
96
tests
for
Pakistan,
scoring
7097
runs
in
his
career.
The
right-handed
batter
has
scored
at
an
average
of
42,
with
19
test
centuries
to
his
name.

Azhar
Ali
announced
retirement
from
test
cricket
as
well
????????@AzharAli_
Thanks
for
ur
services….
couldn’t
forget
ur
innings
in
semi
final
n
final
of
CT17

pic.twitter.com/U9c91CxLs1

—
Arslan
Jutt
(@ArslanJutt43)

December
16,
2022

He
has
also
represented
Pakistan
in
53
ODIs,
scoring
1845
runs
with
an
average
of
36.9.

Pakistan
play
their
final
test
against
England
in
Karachi
which
starts
from
tomorrow.
The
hosts
have
already
lost
the
series
after
a
2-0
deficit
in
the
first
two
games.
Azhar
played
the
first
match,
scoring
27
and
40
runs
in
the
two
innings.

Former
Pakistan
captain
Mohammed
Hafeez
posted
a
congratulatory
tweet
after
the
announcement.

Azhar
u
r
a
such
a
pure
soul
&
true
ambassador
????.
Huge
respect
&
thanks
for
serving
Pakistan
????????
with
honesty
&
dignity.
Happy
retirement
&
wishing
u
all
the
best
as
always
for
ur
future
endeavours.

#Respect
@AzharAli_
pic.twitter.com/Cfnl7d56e4

—
Mohammad
Hafeez
(@MHafeez22)

December
16,
2022