 Inzamam could join the rebel Indian League being set up |
Inzamam, 37, a veteran of 119 Tests, gave up the captaincy and quit one-day internationals after Pakistan were knocked out of the World Cup this year.
He has been included in a 16-man squad also featuring Mohammad Yousuf, having opted out of the opening Test.
"I want to give way to youngsters and allow them centre stage," he said.
"I don't want to stop any youngster's progress.
"I have taken this decision after much thought and I realise that my presence in the dressing room could be a pressure on the younger players.
"So I have decided this is the best time for me to bid farewell to a game I have loved so much.
"It is a tough decision but it is the best for me and my country."
Inzamam needs another 20 runs to overtake Javed Miandad's 8,832 runs become Pakistan's record runscorer in Tests.
He already hold his country's record for runs in the one-day game with 11,739 in 378 matches.
But Inzamam could not stop his side suffering an early exit from the World Cup.
"It was one of the biggest disappointments of my long career the way we performed because we had a good team," he said.
"But there have been other disappointments as well and that is part of the game."
He said winning the 1992 World Cup final against England was the best moment of his career plus the hundred he scored against Bangladesh in 2003 in his hometown Multan to help Pakistan win the match.
"It was my comeback match after disappointing form in the 2003 World Cup and it was an important innings for me," he added.
The prolific Yousuf, who scored nine Test centuries in 2006, is back in the frame after a change of heart over a switch to the breakaway Indian Cricket League.
Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Salman Butt, Taufeeq Umar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Yasir Hameed, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif, Rao Iftikhar.
No comments:
Post a Comment