Pakistan’s former captain and wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday. The 37-year-old ended a 14-year journey that began in November 2007 and concluded in November 2021. He played 54 Tests, 117 ODIs, and 61 T20Is for Pakistan, scoring a total of 6,164 runs with 6 centuries and 35 half-centuries. Behind the stumps, he took 315 catches and effected 56 stumpings.
Sarfaraz will always be remembered as the only captain in cricket history to win ICC titles at both junior and senior levels – leading Pakistan to the U-19 World Cup in 2006 and the Champions Trophy in 2017.
A look at Pakistan star Sarfaraz Ahmed’s records:
Sarfaraz record that still stands alone
June 18, 2017. The Oval in London. Pakistan against India in the ICC Champions Trophy final. Pakistan won by 180 runs. Sarfaraz Ahmed lifted that trophy and became the only captain in cricket history to win ICC titles at both junior and senior level. That is not a small thing. That is a fact that sits completely alone in the record books.
In 2006 as a 17 year old he had captained Pakistan’s Under 19 side to the World Cup title in Sri Lanka. The final was against India. Pakistan won. Eleven years later in London the final was against India again and Pakistan won again by 180 runs.
Virat Kohli won the Under 19 World Cup as captain but never won a senior ICC title as captain. MS Dhoni won senior ICC titles but never won an Under 19 World Cup as captain. Ricky Ponting won multiple senior titles and the same gap is there. Sarfaraz Ahmed is the only one who completed both and he probably always will be.
Sarfaraz Ahmed led Pakistan to 11 consecutive T20I series wins
Under Sarfaraz Ahmed captaincy Pakistan won 11 T20I series in a row which was a world record at the time. They were ranked number one in T20I cricket for over two years.
He captained the side in exactly 100 international matches across all three formats and the 2017 Champions Trophy was the standout moment in all of them. In 2018 he became the youngest Pakistan captain to receive the Pride of Performance award. He was at the top of his game and had every reason to think there was more to come.
Sarfaraz ‘s record catches in single Test for Pakistan
Sarfaraz holds the Pakistani record for most catches in a single Test match – 10 catches against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2019.
He is also the only Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter to score an ODI century at Lord’s.
Captain who backed Pakistan’s next generation
Sarfaraz’s captaincy period was a golden nursery for Pakistan’s next generation. Players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, and Shadab Khan all made their international debuts or got strong early support under his leadership.
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