One of the most momentous events that rocked Pakistan cricket was the retirement of 33-year-old right-handed bat Asif Ali from international cricket on September 1, 2025, shortly after he was not named among the players who would play in the next Asia Cup 2025.
Asif Ali retires from Pakistan cricket
Asif in his farewell message expressed his feelings in his journey in the national colours.
“Wearing the Pakistan jersey has been the greatest honour of my life, and serving my country on the cricket field has been my proudest chapter,” he wrote in a social media post.
“I retire with immense gratitude and will continue to share my passion for the game by playing domestic and league cricket worldwide,” he added, assuring that he had no intention of not remaining in touch with the sport outside the international arena.
Career highlights of Asif Ali
Asif played his first game at the international level on April 1, 2018, in Karachi when he represented Pakistan in a T20I against the West Indies. On October 7, 2023 the last game of his entire foreign career (against Bangladesh at Hangzhou) was played, and it was the culmination of five years of a brilliant top career.
Asif represented Pakistan in 21 ODIs and 58 T20Is in any format. He has scored 382 runs on average of 25.46 and 577 on average of 133.87 in ODIs and T20Is respectively. He was a big-hitter, and was frequently placed in the middle of the order.
The best ones were during the 2021 T20 world cup in Dubai when he scored 25 unbelievable runs on 7 balls against Afghanistan that led to Pakistan winning the match by a single ball. He also participated in the 10-wicket win over India in the same tournament in Pakistan.
Asif Ali’s statistics for Pakistan
Asif Ali has played 16 ODI innings and 51 T20i innings. In ODIs, he had scored three half-centuries, the highest of which was 52. Even in T20Is he made the maximum score of 41. Other than batting, he also participated in safe fielding in 6 ODI and 21 T20I catches.
In 2018 and 2022, he also played in two versions of the Asia Cup that took place in the United Arab Emirates, representing Pakistan. He never had a lengthy international career, but his ability to hit the ball a long way made him a household name in franchise cricket around the world.
No Babar Azam, Rizwan in Asia Cup 2025 squad
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chose a 17-member team that would participate in the Asia Cup 2025 last month. The news caused a commotion since senior batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were omitted. Other all-rounders who were not picked were Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed.
The leader of the squad will be Salman Ali Agha, and there are some pacers on board too: Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi. Haris Rauf, the Pakistan best wicket-taker in T20Is (left-arm) and Shaheen Shah Afridi could retain their positions.
Pakistan will play its first game in the Asia Cup 2025 against Oman on September 12 at Dubai. They will then rival India only two days later, at the same place, in what is probably one of the most intense matches of the tournament.
The Men in Green will be hoping that they finally win an Asia Cup. Pakistan last won the trophy in 2012 under the leadership of Misbah-ul-Haq who beat Bangladesh by a mere two-run margin at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka.