Imran Farhat retires from cricket after 24-year career
LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board has congratulated Imran Farhat on a successful 24-year-long career as the batsman retired from professional cricket on the completion of his side’s campaign in the Pakistan Cup tournament.
The 38-year-old marked his debut in domestic cricket in a List ‘A’ match in 1997-98 season and made his first-class debut the next season. Imran emerged on the national scene following impressive runs with the national U19 and ‘A’ sides and made his debut during Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand in 2001 in ODI cricket in February and played his maiden Test the next month.
Over the course of his domestic career, Imran scored 15,805 runs (38x100s, 72x50s) in 230 first-class matches, 7,572 (15x100s, 38x50s) in 222 List ‘A’ matches and 1,636 runs (2x100s, 8x50s) in 69 T20s. He made 4,195 runs in his 105-match international career – 2,400 in 40 Tests, 1,719 59 ODIs and 76 in seven T20Is.
He captained Habib Bank Limited to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title in 2018-19 season and steered Balochistan as the team’s captain in 2019-20 and the senior-most member in 2020-21 seasons. He was the highest run-getter for Balochistan in the Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament 2020-21 with 499 runs, which included three half-centuries and one century in nine matches.
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan congratulated him on completing a successful career and said has been one of the most successful batsmen in Pakistan’s domestic circuit.
1. 26 years ago today was the first time I put on my green shirt all excited for Pak-U19s and today I played last match as a professional cricketer. All good things in life come to an end, I have really enjoyed this journey and I specially want to thank everyone who has supported
— Imran Farhat (@imranfarhat1982) January 26, 2021
Wasim Khan hoped Imran Farhat will continue to play his role in the betterment of Pakistan cricket by transferring the vast knowledge gathered over the years to the younger cricketers.
Imran Farhat said it is certainly an emotional moment to retire from the game which he have loved and have been passionate about since childhood. “It has been an honour for me to don Pakistan colours, something which every youngster in this country dream about.”
“There have been highs and lows in my career, which is natural, but the fact that I got to get on the field for almost two and a half decades is something I will cherish forever.
He thanked his teammates with for giving lifetime memories and coaches who believed in him and helped him get where he is today. He also thanked his family who made extraordinary sacrifices to see help him achieve his dreams.
