A 17-year-old career comes to an end as Bismah Maroof announces retirement from international cricket with several records and shining stats. But a few years from now, her influence on this game, especially for Pakistan, will be remembered more than her numbers. Cricket in Pakistan needs anything but representation and recognition. Women’s cricket, however, does not enjoy the same luxury.
For every generation, Pakistan women’s cricket has the habit (out of necessity) of deploying one of its best to remind the fans that the sport they claim to love has a thriving women’s side. Throughout her career, Bismah carried the torch and remained the face of women’s cricket in this cricket-crazy nation.
Her tiring job is now over. She has led and shown how this frustrating job is done to her younger teammates. No one knows how long this mission will continue but (hopefully) when it’s over one day, Maroof will be from the OG crew of this project.
Bismah Maroof announces retirement:
As per the Pakistan Cricket Board’s media release, Bismah was quoted as saying,
“I have decided to retire from the game I love the most. It has been an incredible journey, filled with challenges, victories, and unforgettable memories. I want to express my gratitude to my family, who has supported me throughout my cricketing journey, from the very beginning until now.”
– Bismah Maroof
She further said,
“I also want to extend my thanks to the Pakistan Cricket Board for believing in me and providing the platform to showcase my talent. The support from the PCB has been invaluable, particularly in implementing the first-ever parental policy for me, which enabled me to represent my country at the highest level while being a mother.
– Bismah Maroof
Bismah Maroof’s career full of brilliance:
Bismah Maroof ends her career at the pinnacle of the run-getters list in both ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan. She amassed a total of 3369 runs at an average of nearly 30 in one-day cricket Interestingly, she holds the record for the most International runs in the world without ever converting a score into triple figures.
In T20 Internationals, Maroof was equally dependable, accumulating 2893 runs at an average of 27.5 in a career spanning over 140 matches. She captained Pakistan in a total of 96 games, including 62 T20Is and 34 ODIs. For Pakistan, no one has ever captained in more games than her barring Shaiza Khan and Sana Mir. Last year when she called time on her captaincy stint, she had the second-best Win-to-loss ratio in T20Is and fourth-best in ODIs (minimum matches:10).
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In addition, the Southpaw was part of the gold-medal-winning women’s teams in the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014.
The walk that 15-year-old Bismah Maroof started from Jaipur against India in 2006 has ended nearly two decades later, with accolades surrounding her and her fans watching her depart with teary eyes. Bismah Maroof announced retirement from the ‘game she loves the most.’ It is about time we move on, too, and let the newer generation find their Bismah to become the face of this game. Maroof has aptly run her stint with the beacon. She bows out now with nothing but the triumph of a job well done.
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