Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has announced his international retirement on March 15. Sarfaraz was an Under 19 World Cup winning captain in 2006 and also led Pakistan to Champions Trophy title in 2017. He began his international career in 2007 and it went on till 2023 before he was removed from the side. Sarfaraz Ahmed will finish his career with 54 Tests, 117 ODIs and 61 T20Is. He is also the only Pakistan captain since Imran Khan to win a 50 over ICC title.
Speaking about his retirement, Sarfaraz Ahmed said "It has been the greatest honour of my life to represent Pakistan," he said in a PCB release. "From leading the U-19 team to a world title in 2006 to lifting the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, every moment in Pakistan colours has been special. I am grateful to my teammates, coaches, family and the fans for their unwavering support throughout my career.
Sarfaraz Ahmed has led Pakistan in 100 matches across different formats. He has captained the side in 13 Tests, 50 ODIs and 37 T20I matches. He has also helped the side reach the Number 1 rank in T20Is. He finishes his career with 3031 runs in Test cricket which includes four centuries. He has also scored 2315 runs in ODI with two centuries and 818 runs in T20I format. He was also a very reliable wicket-keeper during his time.
As a wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed took 315 catches and also completed 56 stumpings across formats. The biggest achievement of Sarfaraz will be leading the 2017 Champions Trophy side of Pakistan where they beat arch rivals India in the Final. He was appointed as captain in 2016 and under his captaincy the T20I team went on 11 successive T20I series wins. He lost his form and was removed from captaincy in 2019 from the ODI format and also lost his place in the side. Sarfaraz was out of the team for over an year and he made his Test comeback in 2022. He had a very good series against New Zealand but failed in the Australia series and that was his final game for Pakistan.
