Pak woman cricketer Asmavia retires

LAHORE: Pakistan pacer Asmavia Iqbal, who finished the Women’s World Cup in England as their highest wicket-taker with eight wickets from six games, announced retirement from all forms of the game.

Asmavia, who made her international debut in 2005 against Sri Lanka, made a lasting impression on the record books by becoming the first female cricketer to bag a T20I hat-trick, in the game against England in 2012, as she removed Sarah Taylor, Arran Brindle and Danielle Wyatt. She finished with 70 ODI wickets while picking up 44 wickets in the shortest format of the game. She was surprisingly left out of the squad for the limited-overs series against New Zealand in October - their only cricket assignment since the conclusion of the World Cup in June, as the hosts went on to win just the one game of the seven they played against New Zealand. The right-arm pacer took to Twitter to announce her decision and expressed her wish to work with the Pakistan Cricket Board in the future.