This Pakistani became a hindrance to Virat Kohli’s greatness, now he has retired from cricket.

Pakistan’s legendary wicketkeeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed has retired from all forms of cricket. He announced his retirement on Sunday (March 15). Sarfaraz, who captained Pakistan in 100 matches in all three formats of international cricket, has said goodbye to cricket at a time when he has already started his new innings as a mentor and manager. He recently had this responsibility for Pakistan Under-19 and Pakistan-A team.

Sarfaraz played his last international match in a Test match against Australia in Perth in December 2023. He announced his retirement in a statement from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). A board source said that after the formal announcement of Sarfaraz’s retirement, PCB can now appoint him as the head coach of the national Test team for a long term. PCB had terminated the contract of all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, after which the post of head coach of the Test team is vacant. Mahmood had worked as the interim head coach of the Test team last year.

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Kohli’s dream broken

Sarfaraz is the only captain of Pakistan who won the ICC trophy at junior (Under-19) and senior level. The special thing is that on both the occasions he led the Pakistan team to victory against India in the finals. Sarfaraz made Pakistan the champion by winning against India in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup final. After this, he broke the dream of Team India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.

The Indian team captained by Virat Kohli was a strong contender for the title but the tables were turned in the final. Pakistan defeated India by a huge margin of 180 runs due to Fakhar Zaman’s blazing century, Mohammad Aamir’s sharp bowling and Sarfaraz’s agile captaincy. This is Kohli’s first ICC tournament as captain. After missing the opportunity here, he could not win the ICC trophy further under his captaincy.

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‘Never thought of it even in my dreams…’

Sarfaraz played his last first class match in October last year. He said that he wants to focus on his other roles. He said, ‘I had never dreamed that I would captain Pakistan in all three formats and win the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2006 and the Champions Trophy in 2017. These have been unforgettable moments for me. Sarfaraz has played 54 Tests, 117 ODI Internationals and 61 T20I matches for Pakistan.