Last Updated on 1 year by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: Why did Pakistan star Ayesha Naseem retire at 18? | Ayesha Naseem retires from cricket at age 18

Pakistani teenage cricket star Ayesha Naseem has hung her boots from the sport at 18 years of age citing religious reasons. The batter had informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that she has bid goodbye to the game earlier this year itself.

The senior national women’s team skipper Nida Dar made efforts to convince Ayesha to rethink her decision but it did not bear the desired results. Ayesha has clarified that she wants to live her life as a practicing Muslim in accordance with the Islamic laws.

“She was contacted for a training camp and assignment but she told the board she no longer wanted to play cricket,” a source in the know of developments was quoted in a report by the Press Trust of India (PTI). The source added, “Efforts were made even by Nida Dar and some Pakistan players to convince her that she can be a practicing Muslim and also play cricket at the same time but Ayesha refused to rethink her decision.”

Ayesha Naseem showed plenty of promise

The Abbottabad-born cricketer emerged as a regular in the Pakistani T20I team in her short international career. She was renowned for her hard-hitting skills with the bat and earned praise from none another than Wasim Akram for her splendid talent. She represented Pakistan in 34 international matches, which included 30 T20Is and four ODIs.

In the shortest format, Ayesha struck 369 runs at a strike rate of 128.12. She played multiple cameos of significance and hit 18 sixes, which demonstrated her impressive power-hitting abilities. Touted to be the next big thing in Pakistan’s women cricket, Ayesha’s retirement comes as a shock to the cricketing fraternity.

Videos of several of her innings against top international teams have been circulating all over Twitter since the news broke out.