Daily Times

Former Pakistan women’s cricket team captain Sana Mir on Saturday called time on her glittering 15-year career during which she played 226 one-day internationals, including 137 as captain from 2009 to 2017. Last November, Sana had taken a break from international cricket and had missed Pakistan’s tour of England. Subsequently, she was left out of Pakistan’s squad for the Twenty20 International Women’s World Cup 2020 in Australia following a run of poor form. Winner of 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold medals, Sana, who made her international debut in 2005, claiming 151 wickets at an average of 24.27 in 120 ODIs and 89 wickets at 23.42 in 106 T20Is. Apart from that, she also scored 1630 runs in ODIs at 17.91 and 802 in T20Is at 14.07.

In a statement, Sana said: “I want to extend my gratitude to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for giving me an opportunity to serve my country for 15 years. It has been an absolute honour and privilege. I extend my gratitude to all the support staff, players, ground staff and everyone behind the scenes for their contribution in my career and development of women’s cricket. I also want to thank my family and mentors who provided unconditional support that allowed me to fulfill my dreams of representing Pakistan at a global stage and would also like to thank my departmental team ZTBL for their support throughout my career.”

Sana added that she would be looking forward to continue serving her department ZTBL if departmental cricket continued. “Last few months have provided me with an opportunity to contemplate. I feel it is the right time for me to move on. I believe I have contributed to the best of my ability for my country and the sport. During my cricket journey, I have met and built strong friendships and bonding with some amazing cricketers in women’s cricket. Listening about their stories and philosophies have not only made me a tougher and stronger athlete but have also taught me great things about life, which are beyond yourself or the sport or winning and losing,” she added.

Sana said that whenever she reflect on her debut, it gave her great satisfaction that she had been part of the process that had eventually resulted in a packed-to-capacity Lord’s for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 final, something that was further boosted by a record 87,000 spectators for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. “These are great success stories for women’s cricket. I would like to extend my gratitude to ICC for its continuous support to women’s cricket. Tournaments like ICC Women’s Championship have been a real game changer, especially for teams like Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka as they proved vital in helping us express our talent at the international level. It has been an honour to serve Pakistan in cricket and to wear the green jersey with absolute pride. It is time for me to move on,” she said.

Sana retires as the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in ODIs and second-highest behind Nida Dar in T20Is. Her most productive year was 2014, when he took 21 wickets in 11 ODIs at 12.57. In October 2018, she topped the ICC ODI Rankings. She captained 72 times in ODIs, of which Pakistan won 26 and lost 45. In her 65 T20Is as captain, Pakistan won 26 and lost 36. She stepped down from the T20I captaincy after the 2016 Women’s World T20, and lost the ODI captaincy in 2017, when the PCB elevated Bismah Maroof to the role. She is one of the nine women cricketers to have taken 100 wickets and scored 1,000 runs in ODIs. The list is headed by Lisa Sthalekar of Australia. She captained Pakistan at two World Cups (2013 and 2017) and five ICC Women’s T20 World Cups (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016). She was also named captain of Wisden women’s team of the decade along with Mithali Raj and included in ICC Women’s Committee as players’ representative. She is currently ranked 9th and 41st in the ICC’s ODI and T20I bowlers’ lists, respectively. She is 10th and 23rd ranked all-rounder in ODIs and T20Is, respectively

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan paid tribute to Sana: “On behalf of Pakistan cricket, I congratulate Sana on a highly successful career. She has been the face of Pakistan women’s cricket for many years and the real source of inspiration for the young generation of women cricketers. Through her determination and passion, Sana broke the glass ceiling for women cricketers in the country. Through her performances, she not only improved the profile of women’s cricket in Pakistan, but also enhanced the image of Pakistan globally. Sana is a true legend of women’s cricket who attracted, inspired and motivated young women athletes. Moving forward, I am sure she will continue to contribute positively to women’s cricket.”