Ajmal to retire from all formats at the end of the month

LAHORE: Pakistan offspinner Saeed Ajmal intends to retire from all forms of cricket at end of the month, once the ongoing National T20 Cup — Pakistan’s domestic T20 tournament — ends. Ajmal, 40, is representing Faisalabad in the tournament and is likely to make an official announcement after the T20 Cup ends on November 26.

His retirement will end one of Pakistan’s most successful spin careers. Ajmal was a major pillar in the Pakistan line-up under the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq. He collected 178 Test wickets from 35 matches at an average of 28.10, 184 wickets from 113 ODIs at 22.72 and another 85 wickets from 64 T20Is. In T20s overall, he currently has 266 wickets from 189 matches at an economy rate of 6.51.

However, he became a declining force once he was reported for a suspect action and subsequently banned from bowling in late 2014. He returned for ODIs and T20Is with a remodeled action in 2015 but was not as effective and never played a Test since August 2014.

Earlier this year, Ajmal had said he was banking on playing in the second season of the PSL for another international comeback, but he played only four matches for Islamabad United and picked only three wickets, with an economy rate of 9.94. After his retirement, Ajmal will continue with Islamabad United as their spin-bowling coach in the PSL.