Asad Shafiq decides to step down from international cricket

• Asad Shafiq announced his retirement from cricket.
• Shafiq made the announcement after Karachi Whites’ National T20 championship victory.
• He will play three SNGPL Patrons Trophy games before retiring completely.

Asad Shafiq, a middle-order batsman for Pakistan, ended his cricket career on Sunday.

The news was made by the right-hander following Karachi Whites’ National T20 championship victory.

Before hanging up his boots, he will participate in three SNGPL Patrons Trophy games.

“I am not feeling the same excitement and passion playing cricket and neither do I have the same fitness levels required for international cricket. Which is why I have decided to say goodbye to all cricket,” Shafiq told a press conference.

The 37-year-old also declared that he will be a part of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee, which is headed by Wahab Riaz.

“I have got the contract from the board and I am looking at it and hopefully it will be processed soon,” he said.

From 2010 to 2020, Shafiq was a vital member of the Pakistan Test batting lineup, amassing 4,660 runs at an average of 38.19 in 77 matches, including 12 hundreds and 27 fifties.

“After being dropped in 2020 I kept on playing domestic cricket for three years yes in the hope of getting another crack at the Pakistan team. But before the start of this season, I had decided this would be my last season because I felt that closing in on 38 years of age this was time to retire instead of people telling me to step down.”

Shafiq also talked candidly about the challenging time the Pakistani team went through during the 2010 spot-fixing incident.

“After the spot-fixing scandal in 2010 it was a very difficult time for Pakistan cricket and I am happy I was part of that process where we won back the confidence of the people in,” he said.

Throughout his career, Asad also played for Pakistan in ten Twenty20 Internationals and sixty One-Day Internationals.

Over 12,000 runs were scored by the Karachi native in 191 First-Class games. In 162 List A matches, he scored 5,784 runs in the interim.

As Shafiq exited the field on Sunday, his teammates also presented him with a guard of honor.

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