Former Pakistan women's cricket captain Sana Mir calls time on glittering career

Sana, 34, a symbol for the cultural shift of women in sports in Pakistan

Pakistani women cricketer Sana Mir (L) plays a shot during the first Twenty20 (T20) match between Pakistan and West Indies' women cricket teams at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium in Karachi on January 31, 2019. AFP

Pakistani under-21 women cricket team bowler Sana Mir (R) gestures after the dismissal of Indian batsman Sindhu Ashok (C) during the one day international (ODI) cricket match between Pakistan and India. AFP

Bangladesh women cricket captain Salma Khatun (L) and Pakistan women cricket captain Sana Mir pose with the T20 trophy during a media briefing in Karachi on September 29, 2015. AFP

Pakistani women's team cricket captain Sana Mir delivers a ball on the first day of a training camp in Karachi on February 28, 2016. Sana Mir will lead a 15-member Pakistani squad to the ICC Women's World T20 2016 in India. AFP

Sana Mir, captain of Pakistan's women's cricket team, smiles as she stands at home in Lahore February 23, 2014. Mir was enrolled in an engineering degree at a national university, but left to pursue her passion for cricket. Reuters

Cricket - England v Pakistan - Second NatWest Womens International T20 - Loughborough University - 5/7/13. Pakistan's Sana Mir (L) celebrates after catching out England's Amy Jones. Reuters

Sana Mir (C), captain of Pakistan's women's cricket team, sits with a physical therapist (L) and a team-mate during a training session in preparation for the 2014 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 competition in Muridke February 22, 2014. Reuters

Cricket - Pakistan vs South Africa - Women's Cricket World Cup - Fischer County Ground, Leicester, Britain - June 25, 2017 Pakistan's Sana Mir celebrates her wicket LBW of South Africa's Lizelle Lee Reuters

File photo dated 21-06-2016 of Pakistan captain Sana Mir. PA Photo. Issue date: Saturday April 25, 2020. Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir, fifth on the all-time list of wicket-takers in women’s one-day internationals, has called time on her 15-year playing career. Reuters

Former Pakistan women's captain Sana Mir has announced her retirement from international cricket after a glittering career that saw her become the most successful female spinner in one-day international history.

Sana, 34, topped the ODI rankings in 2018 and was a vital cog in the Pakistan teams that won gold at both the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games.

She was a symbol for the cultural shift of women in sports in Pakistan, who were not allowed to play in open fields in the conservative Islamic country until the early 2000s.

"It gives me great satisfaction that I have been part of the great success stories for women's cricket," she said, according to a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Sana played 226 international matches since her 2005 debut and is one of only nine women cricketers to have taken 100 wickets and scored 1,000 runs in ODIs.

She also led Pakistan to two World Cups and five T20 World Cups.

But early this year selectors dropped her from the squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia, hinting that her career was nearing an end.

"I want to extend my gratitude to the PCB for giving me an opportunity to serve my country for 15 years. It has been an absolute honour and privilege," Sana said.

"The last few months have provided me with an opportunity to contemplate. I feel it is the right time for me to move on. I believe I have contributed to the best of my ability for my country and the sport."