RAWALPINDI – Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul has retired from all forms of cricket, signing off with 47 Tests, 130 ODIs and 60 T20Is to his name.
The 36-year-old made the announcement on Friday, after his domestic side – Balochistan – were knocked out of the National T20 Cup by Southern Punjab.
After the game, a visibly emotional Gul thanked his family, coaches and team-mates throughout his career, and was given a guard of honour by both sets of players.
“It has been an honour to represent my club, city, province and country at various levels for two decades,” Gul said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my cricket, which has taught me the values of hard work, respect, commitment and determination. During this journey, I have had the pleasure of meeting numerous people who have helped and supported me in some way. I want to thank all those people as well as my teammates and peers for their support.”
“I now look forward to spending valuable time with them but it will be difficult to stay away from cricket and I now look forward to giving back to the sport and the country that has made me one of the most fortunate people on the planet.”
https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1317375264184295424
Gul, from Peshawar, was the leading wicket-taker during Pakistan’s run to the 2007 World T20 final, and also the leading wicket-taker in the 2009 edition, when Pakistan won the trophy.
His career best, five for 6 against New Zealand at the World T20 in 2009 were, at the time, the best ever T20 bowling figures. Currently, he’s part of PCB’s cricket committee.
Gul made his way through age-group cricket and represented Pakistan in the U-19 World Cup in 2002. He made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in Sharjah in April 2003 and went on to play Test cricket in the same year in August – against Bangladesh in Karachi. In 47 outings in the longest format, Gul picked up 163 wickets at an average of 34.06. In ODIs, he picked 179 wickets at an average of 29.34.
During his cricketing career spanning over 20 years, Gul played 125 first-class, 213 List-A and 167 T20 matches, in which he took a total of 987 wickets.
