South African bowler Shabnim Ismail announced her retirement from international cricket with immediate effect on Wednesday, May 3. The legendary pacer announced that she plans to spend more time with her family but will continue to play franchise cricket.The 34-year-old right-arm pacer is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in women's cricket. She finishes her international career as the second-highest wicket-taker in ODIs and as the leading wicket-taker for South Africa across all formats. "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 her statement.
“As any athlete knows, training and competing at your best requires much sacrifice and dedication, and I now find myself wanting to spend more time with my family, particularly my siblings and parents as they get older. Ismail finishes with 1 Test, 127 ODIs and 113 T20I, picking 317 wickets in a career that spanned nearly 16 years. She played in four 50-over World Cups and all eight T20 World Cups, and hung up her boots with the second-highest tally of ODI wickets (191) behind India's Jhulan Goswami. Ismail said she intends to play in the domestic T20 leagues around the world.CSA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe said: "This is a poignant but celebratory moment for South African cricket and the global game as a whole, as we celebrate and honour an incredible cricketer in Shabnim Ismail."Shabnim has transcended women's cricket as a fierce competitor with the ability of making any batter uncomfortable at the crease with her rapid pace that regularly surpassed 120kph throughout her career."She will be sorely missed by the team and all South African cricket fans as she continues to inspire the next generation of cricketers during her remaining domestic career in all parts of the globe."