Indian tennis star and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik’s wife, Sania Mirza, has said she is proud of her husband, who announced retirement from ODI cricket following Pakistan’s last match of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
“Today I retire from One Day International [ODI] cricket. Huge thank you to all the players I have played with, coaches I have trained under, family, friends, media and sponsors. Most importantly, my fans. I love you all. PakistanZindabad,” the all-rounder tweeted, ending his career spanning over 20 years.
As soon as Malik announced his decision, Sania took to social media to congratulate the veteran on an astounding career.
“Every story has an end, but in life, every ending is a new beginning. Shoaib Malik, you have proudly played for your country for 20 years and you continue to do so with so much honour and humility. Izhaan and I are so proud of everything you have achieved but also for who you are,” she wrote.
“I am retiring from one-day cricket. I’m sad as I’m leaving the format I loved the most but this will allow me to spend more time with my family and concentrate on the Twenty20 World Cup next year,” Malik had said in a press conference after the match against Bangladesh Friday.
Malik played 287 ODIs and scored 7,534 runs with nine hundreds. His performance in the 2019 World Cup, however, left his fans disappointed.
