Pakistani pacer Ihsanullah recently turned heads by reversing his decision to retire from the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He just took back his retirement in 24 hours. The 22-year-old was left out in the PSL 2025 Draft, which led him to emotionally declare he would quit the league.
After feeling snubbed by the franchises, the ex-Multan Sultan player Ihsanullah said, “Not a single franchise contacted me. I just don’t want to play franchise cricket anymore. It’s over after today. I completely boycott it and retire from the PSL. I won’t be seen in the PSL again. I want to represent Pakistan by performing in domestic cricket, not by playing in the PSL.”
Now Ihsaullah takes a U-turn
Realising his hasty decision, Ihsanullah later apologised and admitted that his retirement announcement was made in the heat of the moment. “There’s no plan for retirement, I announced the decision yesterday in emotions. When I wasn’t picked in the PSL draft, my friends & family also messed with my head and I announced retirement in the heat of the moment,” he shared with ARY News.
Ihsanullah’s Injury challenges
Ihsanullah’s cricket career saw a downward trend due to an elbow injury that worsened after a botched surgery. His impressive performance in PSL 2023 earned him the Player of the Tournament title with 22 wickets at an economy of 7.59, and an international call-up followed soon after. Unfortunately, the injury affected his bowling ability and even led to the resignation of the PCB’s medical chief.
He will never be able to bowl the same way
The Multan Sultans’ owner revealed, “It is a very sad development but we got Ihsanullah consulted with a top surgeon, who gave us a really bad news, saying that guys, I can do the surgery but no matter what I do, there is so much scaring from his previously botched surgery that his arm will never become perfectly straight and he will never be able to bowl in the same way because he does not have a straight arm.” Despite the setbacks, Ihsanullah recently returned to competitive cricket in the Champions T20 Cup, representing the Dolphins, and managed to take two wickets in four matches. He also expressed his willingness to rejoin Multan Sultans if needed in the future.
Ihsanullah stats
Mat | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | SR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ODIs | 1 | 0 | – | – | 7.50 | – |
T20Is | 4 | 6 | 3/29 | 18.00 | 7.28 | 14.8 |
PSL | 14 | 23 | 5/12 | 16.08 | 7.55 | 12.7 |