Adviser to Chief Minister Punjab on Sports and Youth Affairs Wahab Riaz announces retirement from international cricket

Adviser to Chief Minister Punjab on Sports and Youth Affairs Wahab Riaz has announced his retirement as Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler from international cricket on Wednesday. Director Youth Affairs Syed Umair Hassan and other officials were also present on this occasion.
Addressing a crowded press conference at National Hockey Stadium, the 38-year-old pacer in an emotional way said: “Thank you to Pakistan, Thank you to PCB, media and all others who supported me throughout my international career”.
Adviser to Chief Minister Punjab on Sports and Youth Affairs Wahab Riaz announced that he will continue to participate in international franchise cricket leagues. “After retiring from international cricket, I would like to keep myself busy in franchise cricket around the world. I have learnt a lot in my international career and I would be happy if PCB gave me a chance to transfer my knowledge and experience to youth through coaching”.
Wahab picked up 237 wickets from 154 international matches including 83 wickets in 27 Test matches, 120 wickets in 91 ODIs and 34 wickets in 36 T20s in a 12-year international career from 2008 to 2020. Apart from this, Wahab also snared 441 wickets in 136 first class matches.
Wahab said that he has been speaking about his retirement plans that he will quit international cricket after the 2023 World Cup. “Right now, Pakistan has a world class pace attack comprising Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and that’s why I decided to retire from international cricket. I have served my country and the national team in the best possible manner. It has been an honour to represent Pakistan at international level”.
Adviser to Chief Minister Punjab on Sports and Youth Affairs Wahab Riaz said that he enjoyed his international career very much. “My fiery spell in the 2015 World Cup against Australian allrounder Shane Watson was a memorable one. It is also an honour to be placed second most successful bowler of Pakistan in World Cup matches after legendary pacer Wasim Akram”.
Replying to a question, Adviser to CM Punjab on Sports and Youth Affairs Wahab Riaz acknowledged the supportive role of three coaches M Akram, Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed. “I learned a lot of cricketing techniques from them during my playing career”.
When asked about his time with different captains, Adviser to Chief Minister Punjab on Sports and Youth Affairs Wahab Riaz said he played his international cricket under several top skippers including Misbahul Haq, Shahid Afridi, M Hafeez and Sarfraz Ahmed but he enjoyed his association with Sarfraz Ahmed a lot than others.
Answering a query about his farewell match, Adviser to Chief Minister Punjab on Sports and Youth Affairs Wahab Riaz said that there should be a policy in PCB to arrange a farewell match to honour retiring international cricket stars. “There is a huge communication gap between cricketers and PCB and this issue should also be resolved at the earliest”