KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Ramiz Raja has praised the retiring veteran batter Azhar Ali for his companies to Pakistan Cricket, calling him a selfless participant and an inspiration for younger cricketers.
Azhar, 37, scored 45 within the first flip of his farewell Test at National Bank Cricket Arena on Saturday.
Pakistan Cricket Board held a short ceremony to pay homage to the retiring batter throughout the lunch interval on the opening day of the third check between Pakistan and England.
Chairman Ramiz introduced a memento to Azhar for his illustrious profession spanning over 12 years and lauded the middle-order batter for taking the daring determination of saying retirement determination at peak of his profession.
âVery rarely do you see such cricketers retiring on a high,â he stated. Â would have favored him to play 100 Test matches however simply to let Azhar, I additionally ended up with 198 ODIs. It doesnât matter, itâs only a quantity.â
He known as Azhar âa true ambassador for Pakistan cricketâ, saying the presence of such a âselfless cricketerâ within the dressing room meant an excellent deal to our cricket system and workforce.
Celebrating an illustrious profession đ
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja presents a particular memento to Azhar Ali, enjoying his farewell Test.#PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/iArZp8XX9V
â Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 17, 2022
âWhat 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.â stated Ramiz.
Azhar made his Test debut on the age of 25 in England towards Australia at Lordâs cricket stadium and scored his maiden Test half-century in solely his second match. He scored 34 half-centuries and went previous the 100-run mark on 19 cases.
With 7,097 runs in 96 matches at a median of 42.49, Azhar is Pakistanâs fifth main Test run-getter behind Younis Khan (10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832), Inzamam-ul-Haq (8,829) and Mohammad Yousuf (7,530).
Azhar, 37, is the one Pakistan batter to attain a triple-century in a pink-ball Test â a feat that he achieved towards the West Indies in Dubai in 2016. That unbeaten 302 stays his highest rating in Test cricket.
Over the course of his 12-year profession, Azhar additionally made 2 double-centuries â 226 towards Bangladesh in Dhaka (May 2015) and 205 not out towards Australia in Melbourne (December 2016) â and has, at the least, one century in Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
It is pertinent to say right here that the highest order batter retired from One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in 2018 â a yr after serving to Pakistan win the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
READ: Ramiz suggests quick bowlers âto achieve fitness for five-day cricket firstâ
