Sana Mir retire from international cricket
Image : Collected
|| CF Correspondent ||
Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir has announced her retirement, bringing to an end a 15-year career that saw her play 226 internationals, including 137 as captain from 2009 to 2017.
She had announced a break from international cricket in November last year to recalibrate her future objectives and targets.
"Last few months have provided me with an opportunity to contemplate. I feel it is the right time for me to move on. I believe I have contributed to the best of my ability for my country and the sport," Sana said in her statement on Saturday (April 25). "During my cricket journey, I have met and built strong friendships and bonding with some amazing cricketers in women's cricket. Listening about their stories and philosophies have not only made me a tougher and stronger athlete but have also taught me great things about life, which are beyond yourself or the sport or winning and losing,’’ Sana said.
"When I reflect on my debut, it gives me great satisfaction that I have been part of the process that has eventually resulted in a packed-to-capacity Lord's for the ICC Women's World Cup 2017 final, something that was further boosted by a record 87,000 spectators for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground," Sana said.
"These are great success stories for women's cricket.
"I would like to extend my gratitude to ICC for its continuous support to women's cricket. Tournaments like ICC Women's Championship have been a real game changer, especially for teams like Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka as they proved vital in helping us express our talent at the international level."
Sana made her ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Karachi in December 2005. She finishes with 151 wickets across 120 ODIs -- joint-fourth on the all-time list -- and scored 1,630 runs, being one of the nine women cricketers who have taken 100 wickets and scored 1,000 runs in the format. She made her T20I debut against Ireland in Dublin in May 2009 and finishes with 89 wickets and 802 runs across 106 matches in the format.
Sana captained Pakistan in 72 ODIs (winning 26 and losing 45) and 65 T20Is (winning 26 and losing 36). She also led Pakistan at two World Cups (2013 and 2017) and five ICC Women's T20 World Cups (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016).
