LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi presented a memorial plaque to former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed who retired from international cricket.
Sarfaraz, who currently serves in the Pakistan men’s selection committee, announced his retirement on Sunday, drawing the curtain on an illustrious career spanning nearly two decades.
The former wicketkeeper-batsman met Naqvi, who praised him for his invaluable contributions to Pakistan cricket and wished Sarfaraz his best for his future endeavours.
Taking a moment to reflect on the remarkable career of Sarfaraz, PCB Chairman Naqvi praised the former captain for his dedication, leadership and the lasting legacy he leaves behind in Pakistan cricket.
“You have fulfilled the honor of representing Pakistan in cricket and have graced our game with innumerable victories,” Naqvi said.
“Pakistan cricket will always be indebted to your contributions and will continue to benefit from your experience and skills,” he added.
Having led Pakistan to ICC Champions Trophy glory in 2017, Sarfaraz left having made significant contributions across all three formats of the game.
The 37-year-old made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 2007, followed by his Test and T20I debut in 2010.
In his international career, he played 54 Tests, 117 ODIs and 61 T20Is, scoring 6,164 runs including six centuries and 35 fifties. Behind the stumps, he completed 315 catches and 56 stumpings.
His captaincy was particularly notable. Sarfaraz has guided Pakistan to the coveted No.1 T20I ranking by scoring over 100 internationals.
Under his leadership, Pakistan achieved a world-record 11 consecutive T20I series wins and six clean sweeps against teams including the West Indies (twice), Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.
He was instrumental in nurturing the next generation of Pakistani stars, giving early opportunities to players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Faqar Zaman and Shatab Khan.
The pinnacle of his captaincy was Pakistan’s 180-run win over arch-rivals India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final at The Oval.
With this victory, Sarfaraz became the first Pakistan captain to win the Champions Trophy and the only captain to win ICC titles at both junior and senior levels, having previously led Pakistan to the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup title in Sri Lanka in 2006.
In recognition of his achievements, including the Champions Trophy win, Sarfaraz received the Performance Award in 2018, becoming the youngest Pakistan captain to receive the civilian honour.
He also became the only Pakistani wicketkeeper-batsman to score an ODI century at Lord’s against England in 2016.
His last international appearance came in a Test match against Australia in Perth in 2023.
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