New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Pakistan fast bowler Usman Khan Shinwari has announced his retirement from international cricket after playing 34 matches for Pakistan over a six-year period.
The left-arm pacer made his debut in 2013 against Sri Lanka in a T20I and later went on to make his ODI and Test debuts, also against the same opponents. He featured in 17 ODIs and 16 T20Is, picking up 34 wickets and 13 wickets in each format, respectively.
His only appearance in Test cricket came in December 2019 against Sri Lanka, which also turned out to be his final match for Pakistan.
Shinwari became Pakistan’s T20I cap 58, ODI cap 216 and Test cap 240 – all against Sri Lanka, in December 2013, October 2017 and December 2019, respectively. He was also part of the Pakistan squad in the ACC Men’s ODI Asia Cup in 2018.
The 31-year-old pacer picked up 34 ODI and 13 T20I wickets. His best bowling performances include two ODI five-wicket hauls against Sri Lanka – 5-34 in 2017 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and 5-51 in 2019 at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi.
The left-armer announced his retirement from red-ball cricket in 2021. Shinwari made his Test debut only in 2019, in Rawalpindi against Sri Lanka. He picked up one wicket in the 15 overs he bowled in a rain-hit match but fell off the radar soon after and even lost his Pakistan contract.
Shinwari first caught the attention of the national selectors when, still a teenager in 2013, he crushed a Misbah-ul-Haq-led SNGPL side in the final of the departmental T20 Cup. In a blazing spell where he seamed and swung the ball prodigiously, Usman picked up five wickets for nine runs in 3.1 overs.
In his short time as an international bowler, a troublesome back injury has flared up regularly.
–IANS
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