Pakistan star Ayesha Naseem retires due to religious reasons: Report

Ayesha Naseem

Retirement from international cricket is a very easy decision for any cricketer. There have been various retirement incidents in cricket that have caught the cricketing world by surprise. Following this mentality, in one such surprising incident saw, Ayesha Naseem, who is just 18 years old and is also a Pakistani International cricket, on Thursday went on to announce her retirement from the game of cricket due to some religious reasons.

Ayesha has played in four ODIs and thirty T20 Internationals so far. She bats in the top order and has scored 369 runs in T20Is, averaging 18.45 runs per game. She has a total of 33 runs in ODIs. In Pakistan's match against India at the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup, Ayesha struck a 43 on 25 balls. According to a report Naseem has already informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about her choice, according to a report in Cricket Pakistan. "I'm leaving cricket and want to live my life according to Islam," Naseem told PCB.

The 18-year-old in June 2021, caught everyone's notice as she scored a 33-ball 45* against the West Indies. Then, in May of the same year, she replicated that total in a T20I match in Karachi against Sri Lanka, this time doing so in just 31 balls. Naseem also played a quick-fire knock against Australia in January 2023. In just 20 balls, she scored 24 runs, including three sixes and a four.

This retirement is also surprising to all cricket fans as she is one of the brightest talents in Pakistan Women's cricket. Considering her bright start in International Cricket, the legendary Pakistan pacer and former skipper of the Men’s cricket team, Wasim Akram once was seen complimenting the youngster for her shot-hitting ability. He tweeted a Cricket Australia post by tweeting, “Now that’s some serious talent.”

Now that’s some serious talent . https://t.co/P5HS9XkkTS

— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) January 25, 2023

Her sudden announcement of her retirement from cricket in order to live a more pious life in accordance with Islam will be missed in the international setup. She was a promising young player for Pakistan cricket and was expected to make a name for herself there.