JOHANNESBURG: South Africa fast bowler Shabnim Ismail, considered as one of the quickest bowlers in the women’s cricket circuit, on Wednesday announced her retirement from all forms of international cricket with immediate effect.
In an official statement, Shabnim said she is retiring from international cricket in order to focus on her family and playing T20 domestic cricket around the world.
The 34-year old Shabnim retires after appearing in 241 matches for South Africa across all formats, taking 317 wickets.
Her last international appearance came in South Africa’s historic ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final appearance against the eventual champions, Australia, on home soil in February this year.
“After 16 years proudly representing my country, I have come to the difficult decision to retire from international cricket and move on to the next chapter of my life. As any athlete knows, training and competing at your best requires much sacrifice and dedication, and I now find myself wanting to spend more time with my family, particularly my siblings and parents as they get older,” said Shabnim in her statement. IANS
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