Ramiz Raja, Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has praised retiring veteran batter Azhar Ali for his contributions to Pakistan cricket, describing him as a selfless player and an inspiration to young cricketers.
Azhar, 37, scored 45 in his final Test at the National Bank Cricket Arena on Saturday.
During the lunch break on the first day of the third test between Pakistan and England, the Pakistan Cricket Board held a brief ceremony to honour the retiring batter.
Chairman Ramiz presented Azhar with a memento of his 12-year career and praised the middle-order batter for making the audacious decision to announce his retirement at the pinnacle of his career.
“Very rarely do you see such cricketers retiring on a high,” he said. would have liked him to play 100 Test matches but just to let you know Azhar, I also ended up with 198 ODIs. It doesn’t matter, it’s just a number.”
He referred to Azhar as a “true ambassador for Pakistan cricket,” saying that having such a “selfless cricketer” in the dressing room meant a lot to our cricket system and team.
Celebrating an illustrious career ????
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja presents a special souvenir to Azhar Ali, playing his farewell Test.#PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/iArZp8XX9V
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 17, 2022
“What you have achieved is truly amazing. You lifted us all and stood up in crunch situations. You are a great example. I want people to play cricket like you, with a smile on their faces and just enjoying the game.” said Ramiz.
Azhar made his Test debut in England at the age of 25 against Australia at Lord’s Cricket Ground, scoring his maiden Test half-century in only his second match. He had 34 half-centuries and went over 100 runs on 19 occasions.
Azhar is Pakistan’s fifth leading Test run-getter, trailing Younis Khan (10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832), Inzamam-ul-Haq (8,829), and Mohammad Yousuf (7,097 runs in 96 matches at an average of 42.49). (7,530).
Azhar, 37, is the only Pakistan batter to score a triple-century in a pink-ball Test, which he accomplished in 2016 against the West Indies in Dubai. That unbeaten 302 is still his highest Test score.
Azhar also scored two double-centuries in his 12-year career, 226 against Bangladesh in Dhaka (May 2015) and 205 not out against Australia in Melbourne (December 2016), and has at least one century in Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe.
To read our blog on “Local Emerging players announced by PCB for PSL 8 draft,” click here
