Yusuf Pathan, former India all-rounder, announced his retirement from all formats of cricket on Friday. Yusuf, the older brother of another former India cricketer Irfan Pathan, is a two-time World Cup winner. Yusuf has also won the Indian Premier League twice with Kolkata Knight Riders – in 2012, 2014 – and once with Rajasthan Royals in 2008. “I thank my family, friends, fans, teams, coaches and the whole country wholeheartedly for all the support and love,” tweeted Yusuf along with a retirement statement.
Yusuf played 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is for India since making his international debut in 2007. He was part of the Indian team that won the ICC T20 World Cup 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. A hard-hitting middle-order batsman and a handy off-spinner, Yusuf scored 810 ODI runs and 236 T20I runs for India. He also picked up 46 wickets in limited-overs international cricket.
“The time has come today for me to put a full stop to this innings of my life. I officially announce retirement from all forms of the game,” wrote Yusuf in the statement. “Winning two World Cups for India and lifting Sachin Tendulkar on my shoulders were some of the best moments of my career,” he added. Yusuf played 100 first-class matches, scoring 4825 runs and picking up 201 wickets.
In List A cricket, the right-handed batsman accumulated 4797 runs and got 124 wickets from 199 matches. It was in T20s, though, that Yusuf was the most effective as a power hitter. In 274 T20s, he scored 4852 runs at a strike rate of 139.34 and picked up 99 wickets at an economy rate of 7.63 runs per over. He last played for India in an ODI against South Africa at Johannesburg in March 2012.
