Pakistan seamer Umar Gul retires at the age of 36

Pakistan pacer Umar Gul has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

The 36-year-old bowler, who was the leading wicket-taker at both the 2007 and 2009 World Twenty20 tournaments, has played 47 Test matches, 130 ODIs and 60 T20I for Pakistan between 2003 and 2016.

"It has been an honour to represent my club, city, province and country at various levels for two decades," said the seamer.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my cricket, which has taught me the values of hard work, respect, commitment and determination.

"During this journey, I have had the pleasure of meeting numerous people who have helped and supported me in some way. I want to thank all those people as well as my team-mates and peers for their support.

"I owe a big thank you to the fans who supported me throughout my journey. They have been an inspiration, especially at times when the going was not great.

"Lastly, I thank my family for standing firmly behind me throughout my career and helping me to cherish my dreams of not only playing cricket but traveling across the country and globe."

Gul picked 987 professional wickets - 479 in first-class games, 286 in List A cricket and 222 in T20 matches.

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With a very heavy heart and after a lot of thinking, i have decided to bid farewell to all formats of cricket after this National T20 Cup. I have always played for Pakistan with all my heart and 100% of hardwork. Cricket is and will always be my love n passion but all good things have to come to an end. Praying that the future will hold much more for me. Secondly, i would like to thank @therealpcb and all the coaches and people who have been a part of my cricketing journey. Special thanks to media, my fans, my family and followers who made it all worthwhile n supported me at all times. Thank u so much #PakistanZindabad

A post shared by Umar Gul (@umargulofficial) on Oct 16, 2020 at 12:43pm PDT