Pakistan's hitter retires right before Asia Cup 2025
Published - 02 Sep 2025, 12:23 PM | Updated - 02 Sep 2025, 01:19 PM
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Pakistan has seen many finishers come and go, but few have left a mark as unique as Asif Ali. The 33-year-old explosive batter has announced his retirement from international cricket, ending his career that was short in numbers but rich in unforgettable moments.
Asia Ali played 21 ODIs and 58 T20Is for the Men in Green and played the role of finisher, usually in the middle order, and that brought him both fame and criticism. His most famous knock came at the 2021 T20 World Cup, when the Men in Green were in big trouble against Afghanistan.
Asif Ali calls time on international career
With 24 runs needed from the last two overs, the right-handed batter smashed four towering sixes in the 19th over to seal victory and carry Pakistan into the semifinals. That seven-ball 25-run burst is still remembered as one of the most thrilling finishes in Pakistan’s modern history.
Apart from his heroics against Afghanistan, he played a crucial 8-ball 16 against India in the 2022 Asia Cup, which helped Pakistan reach the final. But after that tournament, his form dipped badly. He was then picked as a backup for the 2022 T20 World Cup.
With PAK discovering younger finishers, Asif slowly lost his place in the national team. Asif made his Pakistan debut in 2018 after his heroics for Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Pakistan failed to do justice to Asif Ali's talent?
He helped Islamabad United to lift the PSL trophy in that year, which earned him his maiden call-up and eventually made his T20I debut against the West Indies in April 2018. Two months later, the middle-order batter made his ODI debut on the Zimbabwe tour.
The Men in Green needed a clean power hitter, and Asif looked like the right man in white-ball cricket. But his role was often misunderstood by the selectors and fans. In ODIs, he came in too early when the situation didn’t suit his hitting style.
And in T20I cricket, Asif usually got too few balls to make an impact, averaging just seven deliveries per innings.
Even then, Asif managed to stay unbeaten more often. His last major game for the Men in Green came against India at the MCG in the 2022 T20 World Cup, before a few appearances at the 2023 Asian Games.
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Asif Ali retires with gratitude, eyeing the global T20 leagues
Announcing his decision, Asif said that wearing the Green jersey was the greatest honor of his life. The hard-hitting batter also confirmed that he will continue to play domestic cricket and franchise leagues around the world.
Asif Ali posted in a social media post: “Wearing the Pakistan jersey has been the greatest honor of my life, and serving my country on the cricket field has been my proudest chapter. I retire with immense gratitude and will continue to share my passion for the game by playing domestic and league cricket worldwide.”
He finished his international cricket career with 382 runs in 21 ODIs and 577 runs in 58 T20Is. However, his numbers in domestic cricket are far more impressive than the international ones, amassing 1777 runs in 43 First-Class games, 2388 runs in 99 List-A games, and 4737 runs in 302 T20 games.
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