Pakistan’s final test match in the 3-test series against England in Karachi will bring down the curtains on one of Pakistan’s accomplished batters – Azhar Ali. The announcement came from Azhar Ali on the eve of the 3rd test match. He said, “It has been a great honor and privilege for me to represent my country at the highest level.”
“Deciding on when to call it a day is always tough, but, after contemplating deeply, I realized that this is the right time for me to retire from Test cricket.” Azhar will play his final and 97th test match and will finish 5th on Pakistan’s all-time run-scoring chart.
Azhar Ali has compiled over 7000 test runs that include 19 centuries. He stands 5th on the list that consists of great names like Younus Khan, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousaf. He is also one of four Pakistani cricketers who has a triple century against his name.
On being asked if he did not wish to play 100 test matches, Azhar replied that he would have definitely wanted to do that. However, his indifferent form meant he was not a regular part of the Pakistani test team. Eventually, he felt it was the right time to allow a youngster to serve Pakistan cricket.
Azhar Ali is part of the original test squad facing England in Pakistan currently. His first test returns were average where he could only muster 67 runs across both innings. He was dropped from the playing XI in the 2nd test match.