Pakistan: PCB confirms 18-year-old Ayesha Naseem's unexpected retirement from all forms of cricket

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday confirmed that 18-year-old batter Ayesha Naseem is retiring from all forms of competitive cricket, due to "personal reasons".

On July 20, it was reported that Ayesha, an explosive right-handed batter had decided to call it quits because of religious reasons. Multiple efforts were made by the board to have her reconsider the decision, but to no success. PCB took a couple of days to confirm the development.

Although she had reasoned her retirement for "personal reasons", it was widely speculated that it was primarily for religious reasons. "Ayesha Naseem, who featured in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, expressed her desire to retire from the game, which the board accepted," a statement from PCB further read.

"We wish the best of luck to Ayesha Naseem in her future endeavours as the PCB understands and respects her decision to quit the game for personal reasons," said PCB's women's cricket head Tania Mallick in a statement.

Ayesha has featured in four One-Day Internationals and 30 T20 Internationals for the side, which included a couple of outings at the ICC T20 World Cup (2020 and 2023).

She was famous for her hard-hitting skills, especially down the order, possessing a strike rate of 128.12 in the shortest format, the best by any Pakistani batter in her gender.

She had previously captained the side during the encounter against South Africa at the T20 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year.

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