There comes a breaking news from the house of Pakistan Cricket Board! Their prolific fast bowler, Wahab Riaz announced his retirement from International Cricket ending a 15-year-long career. Riaz last played an International fixture back in 2020 & since then he hasn’t featured in any format of the game. But the veteran fast bowler made it clear that he will continue to feature in franchise cricket.
“I have been speaking about my retirement plans past two years, that 2023 is my target to retire from International cricket, and I feel comfortable now more than ever that I have served my country and National team to the best I could have,”
Wahab said in a press statement.
It has been an honor and a privilege to represent Pakistan on the international stage. As I bid farewell to this chapter, I am thrilled to embark on a new adventure in franchise cricket, where I hope to entertain and inspire audiences while competing against some of the best talents in the world.”
A Glimpse of Wahab Riaz’s Celebrated Career on his retirement
Wahab Riaz has played in 27 Tests, 91 ODIs & 36 T20Is scalping 83 Test wickets at an average of 34.50, 120 in ODIs at 34.30, and 34 T20I wickets at 28.55. Though his numbers are not that effective but the amount of pace & turn he could produce with his effective bowling tactics are commendable. Wahab made his Test debut back in 2010 in a Test series against England where he created a mark by returning with four wicket haul. His fierce bounce & pace produced a five-wicket haul including the dismissals of a formidable England top order of Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott, and Kevin Pietersen. His glorious five-wicket haul against India in Mohali during the 2011 World Cup semi-final added more relevance to his career. And that special spell during the marquee clash displayed his effectiveness in white ball cricket more than in red ball format.
After suffering a downfall in Asia Cup 2012 he was rested from the format for a few years & then made a comeback in 2014. This is because Waqar wanted to add an X factor to the ODI format. And his decision worked well as Wahab Riaz returned with a six-wicket haul in Colombo during the Pakistan ODI series against Sri Lanka. It was the beginning of his rewarding career with the Pakistan National team as he went on to produce back-to-back match-winning performances.
Wahab Riaz managed to turn the heads around by producing spell bounding performance during a fixture against Australia in World Cup 2015. It was Wahab’s face-off with Shane Watson that became the talking point of that era. Later in 2015, he played an integral role in guiding Pakistan to a Test win against England in Dubai by bowling some effective reverse swing deliveries. His other memorable stint came during Pakistan’s fixture against England at the Oval in 2016 which helped Pakistan to level the series & guided Pakistan to the top spot on the Test Rankings.
Wahab Riaz’s career highlights include a five-fer in Sharjah, a four-wicket haul in Brisbane & another crisp bowling spell against Sri Lanka in the Test series at Dubai. He scalped four wickets in nine overs to dismantle Sri Lanka’s lineup at 96 & bring Pakistan back into the fixture. However, the main highlight of that fixture was Riaz losing his run-up & aborting his approach five times in just one over. Not only in International format but also in franchise league he won the hearts of millions of fans by creating a solid career playing for Peshawar Zalmi in PSL. When one of the best fast bowlers in World Cricket will be talked about Wahab Riaz will surely come into the list.
Sportsermon wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavors!
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