On Saturday (25th April), the former limited-overs captain of the Pakistan Women’s national cricket team, Sana Mir announced her retirement from the international cricket. The 34-year-old represented her national team for around 15 years.
Sana Mir made her international cricket debut with the Women’s ODI match against Sri Lanka Women at Karachi on 28th December 2005. On 25th May 2009, she led the Pakistan Women’s team in their first-ever Women’s T20I match which was against Ireland Women at Dublin.
Mir played 120 ODIs and 106 T20Is and finished her career as the most-capped player for Pakistan Women in both the formats. She represented the national team during their Gold medal-winning in the Asian Game 2010 and 2014.
She also led the Pakistan Women’s national cricket team in 72 ODIs and 65 T20Is – both are the records in Pakistan Women’s national cricket team history in the respective formats.
The right-arm off-spinner managed to take 151 ODI wickets and 89 T20I wickets – leading ODI wicket-taker for Pakistan and second-most T20I wicket-taker for Pakistan.
The right-handed batter Mir also scored 1630 ODI runs and 802 T20I runs. She finished as the third-most ODI run-scorer and fifth-most T20I run-scorer for her nation.
Mir played her last T20I on 28th October 2019 against Bangladesh Women at Lahore. Later, on 4th November 2009, she played her last ODI against the same team at the same venue. After those matches, she decided to take a break from international cricket. So, Mir also missed out the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia in last February-March.
I feel it is the right time for me to move on: Sana Mir
Announcing her retirement from international cricket, Mir thanked everyone for supporting her in the entire journey. She has also wished to continue serving for her departmental team ZTBL if department cricket continues.
Mir said in the PCB media release, “I want to extend my gratitude to the PCB for giving me an opportunity to serve my country for 15 years. It has been an absolute honour and privilege. I extend my gratitude to all the support staff, players, ground staff and everyone behind the scenes for their contribution in my career and development of women’s cricket.
“I also want to thank my family and mentors who provided unconditional support that allowed me to fulfil my dreams of representing Pakistan at a global stage and would also like to thank my departmental team ZTBL for their support throughout my career. I look forward to continue serving them if department cricket continues.
“Last few months have provided me with an opportunity to contemplate. I feel it is the right time for me to move on. I believe I have contributed to the best of my ability for my country and the sport.”
Mir feels that the ICC Women’s Championship is a real game-changer, especially for the middle and lower-ranked full-members. At the end of her statement, Mir also thanked the cricket fans and supporters around the world.