Abdur Rehman retires from international cricket

Pakistan slow left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old made his One-Day International (ODI) debut in 2006 against West Indies and played his first Test a year later against South Africa. In 2007, he made his first T20I appearance.

Overall he represented Pakistan in 22 Tests, 31 ODIs and eight T20Is.

Rehman did not have a lot of success in the shorter formats of the game as he picked up only 30 wickets in ODIs and 11wickets in T20Is. However, he has picked up 99 wickets for Men in Green in Test cricket with best figures of 6/25.

“I wished that I could have played one more game to complete my century of wickets in Test cricket but now I believe that this is no longer possible,” said Rehman — who played his last Test for Pakistan in 2014 against Sri Lanka. “It was a tough call to make. Every cricketer has to make this decision in his career and my time has come, but I will continue to play domestic cricket and leagues.”

Rahman also thanked former Pakistan cricketers Shahid Afridi and MisbahulHaq for their continued support throughout his career.

“I’m taking this moment to sign off from international cricket. I thank all the teammates especially Shahid Afridi and Misbahul Haq for their support throughout my career,” he said. “It was an honour representing Pakistan and the love and respect I got in return was unexplainable.”

Rehman also said that he enjoyed bowling with Saeed Ajmal — who was sidelined from the team after failing to make an impact in the international cricket with his remodeled bowling action.

“I really enjoyed bowling with Saeed Ajmal,” said the 38 year-old. “He use to ball from one end and I use to ball from the other. It was a privilege to share the ball with him.”