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Azhar Ali announces retirement from ODI cricket

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MenInG

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Social media ablaze with speculation about what he will say but chances are that he will announce something about his ODI future. Quite why he is allowed to call pressers is beyond me.

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES:

"I haven't taken this decision all of a sudden and have thought a lot about it"

"I feel time was right that I put my focus on Tests"

"We have some good players performing in One-Day cricket"

"I want to focus on one format and play with full energy"

"Let me make clear that I haven't taken this decision based on some hard feelings"

"Sarfaraz Ahmed has our full support as Test captain as he is leading the team really well"

"I have no such plan (to become captain in Tests)"

"Would have been strange if I had announced anything about t20s which is a format I dont play"

"I will continue to play t20 in domestic level"

"Because we dont play that much Test cricket to stay in touch with competitive cricket I will play all formats in domestic"

"I have no regrets as I put in my full efforts, you only have regrets when you don't put in full efforts"

"I believe the time is right and I have spoken to the chief selector, coach and captain about this"

"Everytime the question is asked about most memorable moment then the answer will be winning champions trophy"

"It was tough as first of all people were not willing to accept my ODI captaincy and then loss to Bangladesh in first series also made it worse"

"I got a lot of support from staff and due to that we were able to build our team well"

"Captaining Pakistan has never been easy but still I have good memories"

"After injury last year, I have been improving and now I have extra time to work on it. My focus is on my form and fitness now"

"Achieving most runs for Pakistan in Test cricket is far away, I'll have to play for many years and make a lot of runs. My focus is on improving my performances and perform well, whatever records come during that will satisfy me"

"I could have contributed more in One-Days but I have strong belief that Allah does everything for the best. No one expected me to be Pakistan's ODI captain but that happened. I am satisfied with whatever I got in One-Day cricket"

"I always think that when you feel the time is right, you should take the decision. I have done that after a lot of thought and consideration. The most important thing is to leave with respect"

"Everyone was respectful of my decision"

"We should support other senior players, if they can keep performing then they should play on. We start criticising them after a couple of low scores"

"I didn't feel any pressure on senior players or anything, it was my own decision to leave based on my form, fitness etc"
 
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Lol he's not a big enough player to announce anything regarding his ODI future at a press conference
 
Pakistan top-order batsman Azhar Ali is likely to announce his retirement from limited-overs cricket in a bid to keep his focus solely on Test matches.

According to Daily Express, Ali will officially announce this decision in a press conference on November 1.

Ali made his ODI debut against Ireland in Belfast during 2011 and featured in 53 ODIs for Pakistan over the course of his brief limited-over career. He scored 1845 runs with the help of 12 half-centuries and three centuries. His last ODI appearance in coloured clothing came at the beginning of 2018 against New Zealand in Dunedin.

https://cricketpakistan.com.pk/en/n...nnounce-retirement-form-limited-overs-cricket
 
Strange. He played 10x better than Kohli in the CT final.
 
Be Quick!!! Otherwise MHK will put you in ODI captain and Shafiq as vice captain.
 
Better let than never. Belated, but Azhar Ali has finally taken one advise from someone in PP -“Azhar Ali should retire from ODI & focus on lengthening his Test career, otherwise those who could make him Captain of ODI team based on Test performance, might drop him from Test team based on ODI performance”.

Good luck to an honest trier - now he can focus on remaining PAK’s Test opener for next 5 years; that should be his only mantra. Like ODI fortune, if he keeps batting at 3 in Test, he might still get dropped from Test side as well.
 
Well it's official now.

Not wasting any time pining after a WC spot. Should focus only on Tests. Good decision.
 
Saw the writing on the wall after the emergence of Imam.
 
Arham_PakFan said:
How many runs do you have to score to be able to call a press conference?

As I said any player can call a PC. And he's a 'big enough player' really.
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You should have to be a player of considerable repute. Azhar is merely a good Test batsman, that's it. This practice of decent players calling for press conferences is a joke, and only happens in Pakistan.
 
Will he make a comeback for the world cup 19 as he did in ct17 to negate the swing conditions???
 
Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has announced his retirement from ODI cricket in order to prolong his Test career.

"It is not a decision that I have taken suddenly; I had been considering this for quite some time." he said in a press conference. "I think the time is right for me to focus on Test cricket.

"This is my personal decision for the betterment of my career.

"All of us should support Sarfraz. He is doing a brilliant job. He is handling everything very well. The team has gelled very well under him."

https://www.dawn.com/news/1442857/azhar-ali-retires-announcement-from-odi-cricket
 
Azhar Ali ODI retirement statement:

Lahore November 1:

Batsman Azhar Ali has announced his retirement from ODI cricket. He has made the following statement.

“Today I want to announce an important decision that I have made. I feel that the time is right for me to announce my retirement from the One Day International format (ODI) so that I can focus with my full energy on Test cricket and serve Pakistan for longer.

I feel honoured that I represented the country in 53 ODIs —31 as captain— and I have some fond memories of leading some incredibly talented players. I am fully committed to Test cricket and would want to serve the country for as long as I can maintain my form and fitness. I would continue to play Domestic One Day and T20 matches.

As a former ODI captain I wish the team the very best for what is an incredibly important season ahead of the World Cup next June. There are some talented young batsmen who are part of the set-up now and I am supremely confident that they will serve Pakistan cricket with distinction.”

Message from Chairman PCB:



Chairman PCB Mr. Ehsan Mani has congratulated Azhar Ali on a successful ODI career in which he scored 1845 runs at an average of 36.90 with the help of three centuries and 12 half-centuries.



“Azhar performed admirably for Pakistan in the ODI format. He captained in a time of transition for the national team and did well both as a leader and batsman.

Azhar remains an integral part of Pakistan’s Test team and his decision to quit the ODI format will help him concentrate fully on the longest format and I am confident that he will continue to serve the team with distinction.”
 
He should have taken this decision much earlier. Ideally, he should have never played ODIs, but better late than never. Now he can focus only on Tests.
 
He is nearly 34 so it makes sense that he puts in all the effort to make more test runs and concentrate fully on playing that format for as long as he can until he actually fails to score.

With the amount of Test cricket Pakistan plays, I would doubt that he will be able to play 100 even if he keeps playing till 40.
 
Graceful way of stepping away, no drama like we’ve seen with some of our other players
Despite his obvious limitations in the modern game, Azhar Ali always gave his 100% to the teams cause, which you have to appreciate
One of the underrated performers of CT17, but he played vital knocks throughout.

Hopefully, he continues his brillianct performances in Tests, despite the slump in form of late
 
Unsung hero in CT, esp in final. Fakhar looked edgy in the start but Azhar took the attack to the Indian bowlers to relieve the early pressure.

Also should never have been appointed captain, but stepped down graciously when asked to. Probably one of our most selfless cricketers.

Good luck to him for the rest of his test career, hopefully he gets lot more test runs for us.
 
Usman Chadda said:
Lol he's not a big enough player to announce anything regarding his ODI future at a press conference
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Very strange comment.

He's our Test legend, at least the best batsman especially when overseas.

Didn't do too bad in ODIs too. Deserves way more respect than the likes of Malik etc.
 
Not a big fan but he is a selfless servant of Pak cricket. Good luck.

Good that he is thinking about tests as his poor is poor in recent times.
 
Respect for the guy, could have lurked around for few more years, but decided to exit gracefully as a Champiins Trophy winner; lot of our south Asian greats has something to learn from it. The way PAK cricket runs, may be he was one SAF series away from an ODI recall. Azhar left ODI team when many people will ask why, rather than why not.
 
SarfiBabarHaris said:
Not a big fan but he is a selfless servant of Pak cricket. Good luck.

Good that he is thinking about tests as his poor is poor in recent times.
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Well he deserves to be the test captain. Sarfraz doesn;t even deserve a spot in the test side let alone captaincy of the side.
 
Hmmm...
Having more time for test cricket
....or future test captain?
Mohsin?
 
Ahson8 said:
Unsung hero in CT, esp in final. Fakhar looked edgy in the start but Azhar took the attack to the Indian bowlers to relieve the early pressure.

Also should never have been appointed captain, but stepped down graciously when asked to. Probably one of our most selfless cricketers.

Good luck to him for the rest of his test career, hopefully he gets lot more test runs for us.
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Good post.

He deserves lots of respect, any press conference that he wants, way more than many of our current players / stars.
 
Pretty attention seeking stuff tbh. He was never going to play another ODI for Pakistan again anyways
 
Savak said:
Pretty attention seeking stuff tbh. He was never going to play another ODI for Pakistan again anyways
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Probably has to do with his test form too as his form is poor and there were calls for his ouster plus the fact that Abid Ali has scored against Aus when all failed and has now scored against NZ A. He might have thought k bhai test mai jagga to pakki karun phlai.

I was listening to him few months back where he said his eyes are on odi wc 2019.
 
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Azhar Ali is a rare breed of Pakistani cricketers. I have always found him to be a selfless, hardworking player who has made the most of his ability, and an honest trier. I respect him for his services to Pakistan cricket and whilst he is out of the ODI team at the moment, his average of 36 and SR of 75 is still better than the Hafeez, and Shehzads of this world. He also has mentalt toughness which the likes of Hafeez would never have. He showed the importance of a " proven senior" in the CT semi final and Final, and for that alone his ODI career is a succesful one.

He obviously understood he might not get in the ODI squad, so rather than lobbying, getting the media involved to stake a claim in the ODI squad like previous "seniors" have done he has retired and good luck to him for the remainder of his Test career.
 
I don’t know what people here are complaining about. He is 33 and knows that there are youngsters available and performing in LOIs, he wants to clear his mind and focus on test cricket and also it makes it clear to the selectors that he isnt available any more i.e if was to be considered.

He has played 50+ ODIs with respectable stats and was part of an ICC tournament winning team, he deserves to announce retirement if he feels like it.

Some people here need to stop criticism for the sake of criticism. Healthy and constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated but here targeting someone's personal decision which doesnt impact anyone is just overdoing it.
 
respect the decision. Will always remember the crucial role he played in the Champions Trophy and how he stepped up big time. Never was any questions about his commitment to the cause
 
I wish to announce that i am retiring from posting in the PP leagues section on this site, press conference, tea biscuits to follow....


Jeez - Azhar was never an ODI player in 1st place so what difference does it make if hes retiring from ODIs? Seems like attention seeking exercise.
 
Best wishes for him.

Don't know why he's getting hate here on announcing retirement. Guess people will always have something to bicker about.
 
Azhar was too limited a strokeplayer to open in one day cricket where the expectation is to score 60-70 runs in the first PP. He made a valuable contribution in the CT17 final but was unable to replicate that kind of one-off performance otherwise.

His Test form has slumped too since that golden run in 2016/17. I don't know if it's his long-term knee issue, the effects of ageing (will turn 34 in Feb), being moved around in the batting order, or complacency about his place in the team.

But he needs to step up as a senior batsman ahead of these difficult series against New Zealand and South Africa.
 
If he doesnt improve his batting in tests vs New zealand interms of runs or tempo of scoring then he should retire from tests as well.
 
Will always say he got way more flak than he deserved.

For most sides wouldnt have been near the team but for Pakistan I'll always maintain he was a solid player, not great, not bad, solid. Was slated way too often and his SR was around the 80-85 mark if im not wrong which, in my opinion, is still totally fine for a side who's batting at the time was as brittle as Pakistans. Was great in the CT Final so stepped up when it mattered too.

Great work ethic and attitude too, seems a really nice guy so always have a soft spot for him.
 
Azhar is a class batsman but it’s a good decision to focus on his test cricket. With Imam ul Haq cementing his place well and good we don’t need Azhar anyhow. But we shall always remember Azhar contribution in winning Champions Trophy and beating Srilanka in Srilanka to qualify for World Cup place as a captain. Hail ya Azhar, what a fantastic human being you are!
 
Everyone felt he was the anchor opener Pakistan needed in tough batting conditions. Put he couldn't even fulfil that role, he was brutally exposed by Bolt and Southee in NZ where he couldn't even buy a run and Pakistan had no choice but to drop him in the end.
 
Bhai apka ODI career shuru hi kab huva ki apne retirement le liya. :23:
 
Donal Cozzie said:
Will always say he got way more flak than he deserved.

For most sides wouldnt have been near the team but for Pakistan I'll always maintain he was a solid player, not great, not bad, solid. Was slated way too often and his SR was around the 80-85 mark if im not wrong which, in my opinion, is still totally fine for a side who's batting at the time was as brittle as Pakistans. Was great in the CT Final so stepped up when it mattered too.

Great work ethic and attitude too, seems a really nice guy so always have a soft spot for him.
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ignore some of his haters. He did a great job for us. A class test player and if he had gotten a ODI chance earlier in life without the burdens of captaany etc he may have done better. His skill in the CT was there for all to see. A great fighter and mentally pretty tough (unlike certain players who have been playing for twenty years and still cant play fast bowling)..
 
Hawkeye said:
Very strange comment.

He's our Test legend, at least the best batsman especially when overseas.

Didn't do too bad in ODIs too. Deserves way more respect than the likes of Malik etc.
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No way is he a Test legend. Not even a Pakistan great right now. What's happened to you [MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION]? :))
 
Hawkeye said:
Very strange comment.

He's our Test legend, at least the best batsman especially when overseas.

Didn't do too bad in ODIs too. Deserves way more respect than the likes of Malik etc.
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Agree with you but unfortunately there are few users in our forum who rate all players with their ethnic glasses on. Nevertheless they only make themselves low not Azhar Ali. Azhar is a class player!!
 
Didn't have much of an ODI future anyway but was a smart thing to do. Was an awful captain and not a great ODI batsman but played a good role in the Champions Trophy Final.
 
lol some people on here will hate on Azhar no matter what he does. Good decision, who cares if he called aPC to announce it.
 
Corridor of Uncertainty said:
Much ado about a non-event. Didn't need a press conference - a tweet would have sufficed.
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May be this is to keep himself in check & keep things documented. So many times PAK players have retired & “unretiered”, in past that may be Azhar needed something solid enough to restrain himself in future.

Otherwise, he is a PAK national for 10 years, has been among top few batsmen in ranking, had been Captain for PAK ODI over 2 years, had led PAK in a Test as well - how dare for this little contribution, he could call a PC for such a small matter.
 
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What was the point of retiring when you are not selected? How and why does PCB allow such things for contracted players?
 
MenInG said:
What was the point of retiring when you are not selected? How and why does PCB allow such things for contracted players?
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Perhaps to avoid getting randomly selected in the future. With PCB you never know. Just like how randomly he was made the ODI captain despite not bei g in the team for years.

Good gesture by Azhar.
 
Respect his decision as ODI's overall wasn't really his format. He was at his best vs England and India in CT17. Let's hope for some great test performances in the coming future. Other than that, pretty pitiful comments by some of the posters here..
 
Still don’t know how he was made ODI captain.

At least he called it quits before some other “greats”.
 
Good decision. He is far to slow to be a one day opener. Due to him we are always behind the eight ball compared to other sides. He should have retired a long time back.
 
MMHS said:
May be this is to keep himself in check & keep things documented. So many times PAK players have retired & “unretiered”, in past that may be Azhar needed something solid enough to restrain himself in future.

Otherwise, he is a PAK national for 10 years, has been among top few batsmen in ranking, had been Captain for PAK ODI over 2 years, had led PAK in a Test as well - how dare for this little contribution, he could call a PC for such a small matter.
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Let's be honest. He didn't need to call a press conference for ODIs. If he decided to rerire from test team, of which he is an established member, I would be very supportive.

If he needs to remind himself that he is retired, a perpetual calendar every in his diary will suffice. If he needs to tell PCB, a letter would do. If he needed to tell the public, a tweet or a video message would do.

Total drama. I say this because he is better than that.
 
MenInG said:
What was the point of retiring when you are not selected? How and why does PCB allow such things for contracted players?
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PCB is known for randomly picking discarded players (especially "seniors").
 
The right decision. Someone who has given his all for his country and has been a good role model for our country. He did a decent job in the CT but he didn't have the game for LO. Hopefully his test form improves.
 
Usman Chadda said:
No way is he a Test legend. Not even a Pakistan great right now. What's happened to you [MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION]? :))
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Yeah, not an all-time Pak great, you're right. Maybe I didn't explain properly.

He's currently one of our best premier Test bats. If you look at his overall performance, he will also not be far behind in all-time Pak Test batsmen. Of course not the best all time/great.

He deserves lots of respect for that.
 
GreenKhan said:
Azhar Ali is a rare breed of Pakistani cricketers. I have always found him to be a selfless, hardworking player who has made the most of his ability, and an honest trier. I respect him for his services to Pakistan cricket and whilst he is out of the ODI team at the moment, his average of 36 and SR of 75 is still better than the Hafeez, and Shehzads of this world. He also has mentalt toughness which the likes of Hafeez would never have. He showed the importance of a " proven senior" in the CT semi final and Final, and for that alone his ODI career is a succesful one.

He obviously understood he might not get in the ODI squad, so rather than lobbying, getting the media involved to stake a claim in the ODI squad like previous "seniors" have done he has retired and good luck to him for the remainder of his Test career.
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Yea never made any claims when he was dropped, never complained, actually tried to improve when he made an odi comeback.
 
The only drawback to this I feel is that he is going to stop working now on scoring runs quickly and having pressure release shots because there are times in test cricket where you need to score runs quickly due to the demands of the team and situation. If left completely up to him, he would bat Misbah style and hurt the team by scoring at 1 run per over.

I felt that when he started playing ODI Cricket, it actually helped his test match batting. This however only shows the cluelessness of Waqar and Misbah when they recommended Azhar Ali as ODI captain in 2015
 
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