NEW DELHI: South African fast bowler Shabnim Ismail announced her retirement from international cricket on Wednesday, giving a big blow to the recent T20 World Cup finalists who had relied heavily on the pacer.
Ismail, the quickest bowler in the women’s game, played a total of 241 international matches and took 317 wickets across all formats.
Ismail, 34, claimed 191 wickets in ODIs which is second only to India’s Jhulan Goswami (255) on the all-time list.
Ismail, who last played in February’s World Cup final loss to Australia at Newlands, broke the record for the fastest ball recorded in women's cricket during that tournament when she was clocked at 128 kph (80 mph) against England in the semi-finals.
"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," Ismail said in a statement on Wednesday.
"I really believe that reducing the amount of cricket I play will enable me to do this, and playing in global leagues is the only way I see to be able to fit in both family and cricket."
Her retirement follows that of a trio of South African stalwarts from the last 15 years in former captains Dane van Niekerk and Mignon du Preez, and batter Lizelle Lee.
(With Reuters inputs)
