The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially declared the retirements of two Pakistani cricketers; fast bowler Ehsan Adil and all-rounder Hammad Azam. Both players will now be part of the inaugural edition of Major League Cricket, having joined the MI New York franchise, owned by the renowned IPL team, Mumbai Indians.
Hammad, who initially began his cricketing journey in Pakistan, made the move to the United States due to limited opportunities in his home country. Expressing his excitement about the opportunity to play in Major League Cricket, Hammad shared, “This is the biggest franchise in the world, I can say, and I am really happy to be a part of it. I have been eagerly waiting for this franchise for the past 12 to 13 years. It was the first franchise I encountered when I started playing, so all the boys and I are extremely thrilled.”
Major League Cricket is an upcoming professional T20 cricket league sanctioned by USA Cricket. Set to begin on July 13, 2023, the league will feature six teams representing major cities in the United States, operating under a single-entity model.
Ehsan Adil made his Test debut in February 2013 against South Africa in Centurion. He went on to play two more Tests and six One-Day Internationals until 2015, securing five and four wickets, respectively, across the two formats. Prior to his national team breakthrough, Ehsan represented Pakistan in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup held in Australia in 2012. His domestic career encompassed 67 first-class matches (claiming 245 wickets), 67 List A matches (98 wickets), and 68 T20 matches (86 wickets) from March 2012 to October 2021.
Hammad Azam, an all-rounder, featured for Pakistan in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup held in New Zealand in 2010. He represented Pakistan in 11 One-Day Internationals (accumulating 80 runs and two wickets) and five T20 Internationals (scoring 34 runs) from 2011 to 2015.
In domestic cricket, Hammad’s career spanned from December 2008 to June 2021, during which he participated in 107 first-class matches (amassing 4,953 runs and claiming 186 wickets), 114 List A matches (2,362 runs and 91 wickets), and 98 T20 matches (1,361 runs and 75 wickets).
The PCB extended its congratulations to Ehsan Adil and Hammad Azam for their contributions to the game of cricket and wished them success in their future endeavors.
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