Pakistan player Umar Gul has officially announced his retirement from all forms of cricket at the age of 36.
Pakistan pacer Umar Gul has decided to retire from all forms of cricket after his team, Balochistan, had been eliminated from the National T20 Cup. After the said game, an emotional Gul thanked his family, coaches, and teammates after he had been given a guard of honour.
After the game, Gul says, ‘It has been an honour to represent my club, city, province and country at various levels for two decades. I have thoroughly enjoyed my cricket, which has taught me the values of hard work, respect, commitment and determination. During this journey, I have had the pleasure of meeting numerous people who have helped and supported me in some way. I want to thank all those people as well as my teammates and peers for their support’.
‘I owe a big thank you to the fans who supported me throughout my journey. They have been an inspiration, especially at times when the going was not great. Lastly, I thank my family for standing firmly behind me throughout my career and helping me to cherish my dreams of not only playing cricket but travelling across the country and globe. They have sacrificed a lot, while I too have missed their presence and company’, he added.
He also stated that he now looks forward to spending more valuable time with his family as he finds it difficult to stay away from cricket. He also talked about being able to give back to cricket and Pakistan after they had turned him into one of the luckiest people in the world.
Gul was known to be one of the team’s best bowlers. In fact, he was known as the leading wicket-taker during Pakistan’s matches towards the finals of the 2007 World T20 Cup. He was also the leading wicket-taker in the 2009 season where they became champions.
Overall, he had played 125-first class, 213 List-A, and 167 T20 matches with a total of 987 wickets. He has also represented in the national team in 47 Tests, 130 ODIs, and 60 T20Is from 2003 to 2016. As he retires, he will take on a full-time role on the PCB’s cricket committee. To learn more about cricket, check out Betwala.
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