Former Pakistan pacer Umar Gul bursts into tears revealing reason for retirement

Umar Gul brought the curtains down on his illustrious playing career after making 237 international appearances for Pakistan. He recently broke down in tears while revealing the real reason behind his retirement.

In a recent interview with A Sports, he revealed that the death of his best friend, Kaleem, was the reason why he bid farewell to the beautiful sport. Gul told that Kaleem passed away in the first year of the pandemic, just two days before Eid, in a traffic accident. The right-arm pacer said that his bond with his deceased friend was special and that he could understand what was going on in his heart by just looking at him.

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Gul also explained that he used to come to Karachi only to meet Kaleem. After the latter's untimely demise, Gul decided to hang up his boots. The 40-year-old said that even his wife wasn't aware of the actual reason behind his retirement.

Umar Gul's career in numbers

The Peshawar-born made his international debut in an ODI versus Zimbabwe on April 3, 2003, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Gul went on to play 130 ODIs and bagged 179 wickets at an average of 29.36 and a strike rate of 33.88. He also registered two five-wicket hauls in international 50-over cricket.

Four months after his ODI debut, Gul received his maiden Test cap during a match against Bangladesh. In 47 Tests, he picked up 163 wickets at an average of 34.07 and a strike rate of 58.89. He took four five-wicket hauls in his red-ball career.

In the shortest format of the game, Gul was one of the finest bowlers of his time. He played 60 T20Is and accounted for 85 wickets at an average of 16.96 and a strike rate of 14.15. He also had two five-wicket hauls in the format. Gul emerged as the leading wicket-taker in Pakistan's triumphant T20 World Cup 2009 campaign, having picked up 13 wickets in seven games at 12.15.