South African Legend Shabnim Ismail Retires from International Cricket

image-lh7omrhaShabnim Ismail celebrates a wicket in 2023 T20 WC final (Twitter)

South African women’s cricketer Shabnim Ismail has announced her retirement from international cricket.

Her last appearance for South Africa came against Australia in the final of the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup in Cape Town. Since then, the speedster has turned up for the UP Warriorz in the inaugural season of WPL, before playing for Sapphires in the recently-concluded FairBreak Invitational Tournament.

Ismail was widely regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the women’s, having snared 317 wickets across 241 international matches.

Shabnim Ismail retires to focus on family

Shabnim Ismail made her international debut for South Africa back in 2007. Over the course of the next 16 years, she appeared in 127 ODIs, 113 T20I and one Test match for her country. One of the leading wicket-takers among women in ODI and T20Is, she claimed 191 and 123 across the two formats respectively.

On May 3, Ismail announced her retirement decision in a heartfelt letter to her fans within the cricketing fraternity and beyond. In an official statement shared by Cricket South Africa, she says:

“After 16 years proudly representing my country, I have come to the difficult decision to retire from international cricket and move on to the next chapter of my life.”

The 34-year-old further thanked Cricket South Africa, her teammates, and coaching staff for their support over the years, and expressed her gratitude towards her fans for their encouragement.

Citing family as the reason behind her sudden retirement, the legendary pacer confirmed that she will be still be participating in global T20 leagues across the globe moving forward.