Azhar Ali rules out coming out of retirement from One Day cricket

LAHORE: Former Pakistan cricket captain, Azhar Ali has ruled out plans of coming out of retirement from One Day cricket.

"At the moment, I have no plans to reverse my decision of retirement from one Day cricket and I have not thought about it at this stage," he told reporters here on Thursday after a session of the pre-season cricket camp.

On a volley of questions on the same issue (taking back retirement), he said "It is a very difficult question to answer knowing that many cricketers in the world have taken back the decision of retirement, but I have taken this decision after thorough consideration and stands by my decision.

"I decided to retire from One Day cricket as I could not see my future in that format of the game and it is not easy to re-consider such a decision," he asserted.

Answering a question, regarding his possible appointment as the Pakistan test captain,  the former Pakistan captain said it is premature to even assume  at this stage  that he will be among the candidates to be considered for captaincy in the test cricket.

"The new selection committee have not yet been selected, nor the team management of the team has been finalised at such a thought at this stage is not fair or wise," said Azhar Ali.

"I want to play cricket as long as I am engaged with the game and I will be doing my best to justify my inclusion in the team based on my performance and fitness," he told a questioner. "However, I will continue to play all formats in domestic cricket and to live up to the expectations," he added.

Azhar Ali praised the decision of Pakistan Cricket Board to conduct the pre-season training camp saying "It will help players to tune up for the domestic season as well as to get into shape and rhythm for the coming international cricket assignments."

He agreed to a questioner that Pakistan's performance in the test cricket has gone down and attributed it to various reasons and said “PCB has taken a number of steps to address this issue by revamping the existing domestic structure which will help in enhancing the quality of the domestic cricket, helping the players to play longer innings and to adopt the longest version of the game with a mind set required in the test cricket."

To a question, he said he enjoyed playing county cricket in England and improved the level of the game he looks forward to playing for Pakistan giving his best.

Azhar Ali said he was confident that PCB will choose the best candidate to serve as head coach of the national team. “I am confident that PCB will make a good decision regarding the selection of  best professionals for coaching jobs."

He said among the coaching candidates who have applied for the different specialized coaching assignments are those with whom he has played cricket and looks forward  that a capable group of professionals will take over the coaching jobs to elevate Pakistan team's performance.