March 15 (Reuters) - Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who guided his country to their maiden Champions Trophy title in 2017, announced his retirement from the sport on Sunday.
The Karachi-born wicketkeeper-batter featured in 54 tests, 117 one-day internationals and 61 Twenty20 international matches over nearly two decades, accumulating over 6,000 runs across all formats while he also claimed 315 catches and 56 stumpings.
The 38-year-old led Pakistan to Champions Trophy glory in 2017 when they beat India by 180 runs in the final at the Oval. He had also guided the Under-19 team to World Cup victory in 2006.
"It has been the greatest honour of my life to represent Pakistan. From leading the U-19 team to a world title in 2006 to lifting the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, every moment in Pakistan colours has been special," Sarfaraz said in a statement.
"Captaining Pakistan across all formats was a dream come true. I always tried to play fearless cricket and build a united team.
"Seeing players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and others grow into match-winners during my captaincy is one of my proudest achievements."
Sarfaraz captained Pakistan in 100 international matches across all three formats and also led the side to the number one spot in the T20 rankings.
His last match for Pakistan was a test against Australia in Perth in December 2023.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
