Karachi (November 30, 2017): Spin legend Saeed Ajmal officially announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Wednesday, bringing down the curtain on a career that saw the highest of highs before ending in relative doldrums due to problems with his bowling actions.
Having been banned in 2014 from bowling in international cricket, Ajmal tried mounting several comebacks but says the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) lukewarm interest in him left him with no option but to end his playing career and embark on a new journey.
“The PCB helped me somewhere and somewhere they didn’t. If they wanted me to play they could have made it happen. So I decided to retire on a positive note after leading my team Faisalabad in the National T20 Cup,” he added
Despite a forgettable tail end to his playing career, Ajmal says he is content with what he achieved and now wants to help cultivate young talent with his expertise.
“I played enough and achieved even more than I had expected at the start of my career,” he said. “I am thankful to all the fans, friends and coaches who helped me achieve what I did in my nine years of international cricket and now I plan on using my experience to make more brilliant off-spinners for Pakistan.”
“I will be setting up a lab at my academy in Faisalabad and want to help those who have been out for suspected bowling action,” he said. “PCB doesn’t do much in this regard, like they didn’t for me, so I want to give hope to players and tell them that they can come back.”
Ajmal, who has been appointed the bowling coach of PSL franchise Islamabad United, continued: “I also want to help up and coming off-spinners and even others who want to correct their actions. I am in talks with an English coach who has worked with the ICC. I want him to work here with banned players in Pakistan so they can be available for Pakistan team again.”
The highest point of Ajmal’s career came in 2011 when he became the number one ODI bowler in ICC rankings. Reflecting back, he says that feat was made possible by his insatiable desire to better his personal bests.
“I just wanted to do well for the team and just do better and better,” he recalled. “When I achieved the milestone of taking 100 wickets in 20 matches, I could’ve relaxed but I didn’t. I wanted more and more.”
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