Asif Ali, known for hitting long maximums, has announced his retirement from international cricket.
According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, the right-handed batter has represented Pakistan in 21 ODIs and 58 T20Is, scoring 959 international runs in white-ball format. During his career, Asif Ali hit three half-centuries, all in the ODIs.
Faisalabad-born player featured in the ODI Asia Cup in 2018. He also represented Pakistan in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in England in 2019. In T20Is, Asif played in the ICC T20I World Cups in 2021 and 2022. Asif also took part in the ACC T20I Asia Cup in 2022. He participated in the Asian Games (2023) held in Hangzhou, China, a T20I event.
The flamboyant batter made his T20I debut against the West Indies in April 2018. With a gap of just over three months, he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe.
He struggled to perform consistently at the international level after his T20I, ODI debuts and was often sidelined. Asif’s inclusion in Pakistan’s squad for the T20I World Cup in 2021 raised many eyebrows.
Asif Silenced Critics:
But the power hitter silenced his critics by playing a key role in Pakistan’s victories against New Zealand and Afghanistan. He hit four sixes in the penultimate over, bowled by Karim Janat, to help Pakistan clinch a famous victory against Afghanistan.
In that specific match, he refused a single on the last ball of the previous over to get a strike in the next over. To his batting partner, Shadab Khan, he offered the excuse of not seeing the opportunity to run due to distraction. For scoring 25 off 7 balls against Afghanistan in that high-voltage game, he was named player of the match.
Asif Ali also won the player of the month award in November 2021 for his significant performances during the T20I World Cup.
