Pakistani fans shower honours on female cricket star on retirement

Islamabad, April 27: Pakistani sports lovers have showered honours on the country's top female cricket star and former captain Sana Mir on retirement from her international sports career.

The 34-year-old Mir announced her retirement on Saturday after a 14-year-long shining career in which she was honored as one of the most successful female spin bowlers in one-day international cricket history, reported Xinhua news agency.

Mir said in a statement that it was an honour for her to serve Pakistan and she has retired with absolute pride, adding, "words fall short when I want to thank you all for the love, support and encouragement in the past".

"Local TV channels telecast special programs for her, local newspapers published special articles at their websites and cricket fans made Mir's retirement as the top trend on the social media in Pakistan where fans paid tributes to the sports legend.A fan named Adil Tasawar said on Twitter, "when we talk about Pakistan women cricket, one person first in our mind she is Sana Mir, thank you Sana you give honor and dignity."

Another fan named Shamilo paid tribute, saying, "Sana Mir truly changed the course of women's cricket, became the first household name in the women's game. That in and of itself is an achievement, but she also helped create a legacy of players behind her."

Four years after her appearance at the international level cricket, Mir took the reins of Pakistan women team as captain and played a vital role to lift the team's international ranking. She led Pakistan team to win gold medals from the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games.

Mir has always been considered as the sports ambassador because her emergence inspired hundreds of Pakistani youngsters to join sports. She played 226 international matches for Pakistan, including 137 of those in which she led the team as captain.