LAHORE: Pakistani fast bowler Wahab Riaz announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday, three years after playing his last match for the country.
The 38-year-old left-armer said he felt it was the right time to draw the curtain on a 15-year international career.
“I wanted to play the 2023 World Cup but felt that I stand no chance of a comeback, so this is the right time,” Riaz told a news conference in Lahore.
Known for his pace and aggression, Riaz made his one-day debut in 2008, and played his first Test in the spot-fixing-marred 2010 series in England.
The last Test of that series resulted in five-year bans for captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir for conspiring to bowl deliberate no-balls in return for money.
Riaz went on to anchor Pakistan’s pace attack, and made a big impact with a five-wicket haul in the highly charged 2011 World Cup semi-final against arch-rivals India in Mohali, which he called “the most memorable match in my career”.
“I could have achieved more than what I did but there are no regrets,” he said.
Riaz took 83 wickets in 27 Tests, and 120 wickets in 91 ODIs. He also grabbed 34 wickets in 36 Twenty20 internationals.
Riaz was appointed sports minister in the caretaker Punjab government earlier this year, but says he will continue playing T20 league cricket, and may get into coaching.
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