Afghanistan batsman Noor Ali Zadran retires from international cricket

KABUL (Agencies): Veteran Afghanistan batter Noor Ali Zadran has announced his retirement from international cricket. He ends his career after two Tests, 51 ODIs and 23 T20Is, having first represented his country back in 2009. Noor Ali’s final appearance for Afghanistan was the one-off Test against Ireland earlier this month, which ended in a defeat for his team. Noor Ali scored 1216 runs at an average of 24.81 in ODIs, and 597 runs at 27.13 in T20Is. Both his Tests came in a one-month span – he played Sri Lanka in Colombo in early February before the game against Ireland in Abu Dhabi later in the month; he scored 117 runs across four innings. He was recalled into the Afghanistan side for the T20Is at the Asian Games in October 2023, after having last turned out for them in the 2019 ODI World Cup. At the Asian Games, he hit 51 and 39 against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively, as Afghanistan beat both teams on their way to the final against India – it ended in a no-result because of rain, and India were awarded the gold medal for being the higher-ranked team. Noor Ali was a part of the side which played Afghanistan’s first official ODI in April 2009, against Scotland in Benoni. On that occasion, Noor Ali, opening the batting, scored a 28-ball 45 in an 89-run win for his team. Noor’s first T20I, in February 2010, was Afghanistan’s second game in the format. One of his career highlights was hitting a half-century against India at the T20 World Cup in 2010, which was Afghanistan’s first World Cup appearance. He was also part of the side that defeated Zimbabwe in the first round of the T20 World Cup in 2016.