Sohail Tanvir Retirement: IPL's First-Ever Purple Cap Winner Bids Adieu To International Cricket

Sohail Tanvir Retires: The left-arm speedster was part of the Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals franchise in the inaugural season of the IPL and helped them clinch the title

Sohail played 2 Tests, 62 ODIs and 57 T20Is for Pakistan, taking 5, 71 and 54 wickets in them respectively.

Pakistan's left-arm speedster Sohail Tanvir announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday. The 38-year-old too to Twitter to make his decision known to the world.

Sohail played 2 Tests, 62 ODIs and 57 T20Is for Pakistan, taking 5, 71 and 54 wickets in them respectively. Known for his unorthodox action, Sohail is best remembered by Indian Premier League (IPL) fans as the tournament's highest-ever wicket-taker in the inaugural season.

"Announcement: I am retiring from all formats of international cricket and will continue to play domestic and franchise cricket going forward. Thank you to @TheRealPCB for giving me the opportunity to play for my country," he wrote on Twitter.

Announcement: I am retiring from all formats of international cricket and will continue to play domestic and franchise cricket going forward. Thank you to @TheRealPCB for giving me the opportunity to play for my country 🇵🇰

— Sohail Tanveer (@sohailmalik614) March 6, 2023

Notably, the bowler who ends the competition with the most number of wickets gets the Purple Cap in IPL and it is Sohail who has the distinction of being the first winner of the award with 22 wickets, including a record spell of 6/14. However, Sohail never played in the IPL again as Pakistani players have not competed in the tournament ever after owing to the tensed political relationship between India and Pakistan after 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Sohail was part of the Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals franchise in the inaugural season of the IPL and helped his side clinch the title. To date, that remains Rajasthan's only triumph in the competition.

Overall, in his T20 career the left-arm speedster has bagged 389 T20 wickets so far. He was also a part the Men in Green's T20 World Cup-winning campaign in 2009. Sohail has kept the doors open for him in franchise cricket. He has played for Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators in the PSL from 2016 to 2022, last playing for the Gladiators in the tournament in which he has bagged 55 wickets from 61 games.