Pakistani fast bowler Wahab Riaz has announced that he will take an indefinite break from Red Ball cricket to focus on the shorter formats.
Wahab did not play a first-class match in 2019 and last played a friendly against Australia in October 2018. Since his test debut in England in 2010, Wahab has scored 83 goals with an average of 34.50.
After a lot of thinking and discussions with my family and board, I have decided to take a break from red-ball cricket and maintain my fitness and focus on the shorter format for my country. It was a tough decision and I appreciate my Board’s support and guidance during this time
— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) September 12, 2019
Commenting on Twitter, Wahab said, “After much consideration and discussion with my family and board, I decided to take a break from Red Ball cricket and maintain fitness and focus on the shorter format for my country. “
Wahab has played in all of the eight games of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 in Pakistan, and his decision to focus on cricket with white balls is likely to have fallen in the wake of the ICC Men’s T20 World Championship next year in Australia. At the beginning of the tournament in October 2020 Wahab will be 35 years old.
In fact, it has been more than two years since Wahab last played for Pakistan in T20I cricket. He is, however, a highly experienced T20 activist. Only 13 cricketers have taken more than their 258 wickets in the format and only seven of them are pace bowlers.
