Ahmed Raza, the former UAE captain, has announced his retirement from cricket with immediate effect.
The 34-year-old spinner is set to take up a role as part of the national team’s coaching staff.
“It is with great pride that I am announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket,” Raza said.
“After much thought, I believe this is the right time to step away from the game that has given me so much love and respect over the last 17 years.
“Representing and leading my country in the great sport of cricket has been one of the greatest honours of mine.”
Raza has been part of the national team since debuting in a game in Abu Dhabi in 2006 against an India A side that included the likes of Rohit Sharma in its ranks.
He went on to become a mainstay of the line up, and, over the course of two spells, became statistically the most successful captain in the history of the national team.
Raza has been part of the national team set since in a game in Abu Dhabi in 2006 against an India A side including the likes of Rohit Sharma, the current India captain, and Ravindra Jadeja, in its ranks.
He went on to become a mainstay of the line up, and, over the course of two spells, became statistically the most successful captain in the history of the national team.
Between 2014 and 2022, Raza led UAE in 56 limited overs internationals, of which the side won 32. His 66 per cent win rate across ODIs and T20Is is considerable better than the overall rate of the national team, which is 42 per cent.
During his second stint at the helm, which started on the eve of the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier, he took over a side rocked by a corruption crisis which has since seen seven players banned from the sport.
The national team was rebuilt under Raza’s undemonstrative leadership, which was characterised by calmness and tactical astuteness.
The new-look side was more youthful than any UAE side to date, and quickly became competitive again, most notably in the T20 format.
Last year, Raza took five wickets in the match which sealed qualification for the T20 World Cup in Australia.
“It’s hard to pinpoint a [favourite] moment over the course of the past 17 years, however, leading UAE to the T20 World Cup will always be a significant achievement of mine,” he said.
Raza’s career economy rate of 6.61 in T20Is is among the best in the history of the shortest format of the international game.
However, he lost his place in the national team last year having been controversially removed from the captaincy.
The dynamic in the dressing room will be intriguing in his new role, given the proximity to the coach who replaced him as captain, Robin Singh, as well as his successor, CP Rizwan.
However, Rizwan has long been grateful to Raza for his influence on his own playing career, as well as his magnanimity when the captaincy changed hands last August.
Raza was among the first people to contact Rizwan to congratulate him on his appointment, as well as to offer his support, for which the new captain was appreciative.
Although Raza was part of the UAE squad that played at the T20 World Cup in Australia, he was limited to just one game – and one over of bowling – in the tournament.
His final playing involvement with the national team came late last year, on the national team’s one-day international tour of Nepal.
He has opted to step away from playing now because of the emergence of a high promising group of left-arm spin bowlers, chiefly Aayan Khan, the 17-year-old from Sharjah, as well as to focus on coaching, plus his new young family.
