The legend who made Pakistan champion announced his retirement, had broken the hearts of crores of Indians in 2017

New Delhi: Pakistan’s veteran wicketkeeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed has announced his retirement from international cricket. With this his international career, which lasted for almost two decades, ended. Sarfaraz led Pakistan to many memorable victories in white-ball cricket in his career.

Karachi-born wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz made his international debut in November 2007 in an ODI match against India in Jaipur. In his career, he played 54 Tests, 117 ODIs and 61 T20 International matches. In these matches he scored a total of 6164 runs, which included 6 centuries and 35 half-centuries. His record as a wicketkeeper was also excellent. He took 315 catches and 56 stumpings behind the wicket.

Captained Pakistan in 100 matches

Sarfaraz captained Pakistan in 100 international matches including all three formats.

* 50 ODI
* 37 T20 International
* 13 tests

Under his captaincy, Pakistan became number-1 in the T20 International ranking and the team also made a world record of winning 11 consecutive T20 series.

2017 Champions Trophy win biggest achievement

The biggest achievement of Sarfaraz’s captaincy tenure was the victory of the ICC Champions Trophy played in England. Pakistan won the title by defeating India by 180 runs in the final and won the ICC trophy after eight years. With this victory, Sarfaraz became the only captain of Pakistan to win the ICC trophy at both junior and senior level. Earlier, he had made Pakistan the champion in the ICC Under-19 played in Sri Lanka in 2006, where India was defeated in the final.

Gave opportunity to many big players

During his captaincy, Sarfaraz gave starting opportunities to many players, who later became the stars of the team. These include:
* Babar Azam
* Shaheen Shah Afridi
*Hassan Ali
* Imam-ul-Haq
* Faheem Ashraf
* Fakhar Zaman
* Shadab Khan

In view of Sarfaraz’s services, he was awarded the prestigious civilian honor of Pakistan in 2018. He became the youngest captain of Pakistan to receive this honour. However, after the emergence of Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz’s chances to play decreased. He played his last match for Pakistan in the Perth Test in December 2023.

Can become coach of Pakistan

It is now believed that Sarfaraz can play a role in the coaching staff of the Pakistan team amid the changes in the team after their recent exit from the Super-8 in the T20 World Cup 2026. Announcing his retirement, Sarfaraz said, representing Pakistan has been the biggest honor of my life. From leading the Under-19 team to the world title in 2006 to lifting the Champions Trophy in 2017, every moment spent in the Pakistan jersey was special.