The left-arm spin all-rounder from Pakistan, Imad Wasim, has once again declared his retirement from international cricket, with his last game for the country coming against Ireland at Lauderhill during the recent T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America, where they were knocked out of the group stage of the competition.
Imad Wasim, however, has shown his desire to be playing for domestic and franchise cricket around the globe. The 35-year-old had already made his retirement from the game in the previous year. But his incredible performance in the last edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he achieved three successive ‘Player of the Match’ awards to help Islamabad United become the champions, led him to make his international return in the shortest format of the game.
In PSL 2024, the left-handed batter smashed 126 runs in nine innings at an average of 21 and a strike rate of around 130. The year before that, in 2022/23, for the Karachi Kings, the veteran batter smashed 404 runs in ten innings at an average of 134.66 and a strike rate of around 171, with the help of three half-centuries.
Imad Wasim retires from international cricket for Pakistan
With the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in the Caribbean, where Imad Wasim has gained a significant amount of experience from the CPL, he returned to the T20I fold of Pakistan after a meeting with their board officials.
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However, it was a very poor campaign from the Green Brigade, as the batter faced so much criticism for his knock of 15 runs in 23 deliveries at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York, where they failed to chase down the score of 120 in as many deliveries.
Post that debacle, the 2009 champions of the T20 World Cup took part in the Test series at home against Bangladesh and England. But the Glamorgan-born was ignored for the ODI and T20I series in Australia, followed by Zimbabwe and later in South Africa.
Imad Wasim finishes his ODI career with 986 runs in 40 innings at an average of around 43 and a strike rate of around 110 with the help of five half-centuries, besides picking up 44 scalps at an economy of under five at the best bowling figure of 5/14.
In the shortest format of the game, the veteran was part of 75 T20Is, managing 554 runs at a strike rate of over 130 with a best score of unbeaten 64 runs, while with the ball, he picked up 73 wickets at an economy of 6.20.
“To all fans & supporters: After much thought and reflection, I have decided to retire from international cricket. Representing Pakistan on the world stage has been the greatest honor of my life, and every moment wearing the green jersey has been unforgettable.” Imad Wasim wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) regarding his retirement from the national side.
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“Your unwavering support, love, and passion have always been my biggest strength. From the highs to the lows, your encouragement has pushed me to give my best for our beloved country. While this chapter comes to an end, I look forward to continuing my journey in cricket through domestic and franchise cricket, and I hope to keep entertaining you all in new ways.” The 35-year-old penned down.
The left-arm spin all-rounder was recently part of the Abu Dhabi T10 League and is expected to make his presence in the upcoming franchise T20 Leagues consisting of the Big Bash, BPL, or even the PSL shortly.