Kabir Ali announces retirement From first-class cricket Kabir Ali, the former England, Worcestershire, Hampshire and Lancashire seamer, has announced his retirement from first-class cricket because of a serious shoulder injury. Kabir, 34, suffered the injury playing for Lancashire in last season’s NatWest T20 Blast semi-final win over Hampshire at Edgbaston. He was released by Lancashire at the end of the season but subsequently underwent surgery in the hope that he might be able to continue his county career. But Kabir has now been told that further surgery is required ” I underwent major surgery and did all the rehab but come Christmas time when I tried to bowl I struggled to get any pace,” Kabir said. ” I went out to Barbados in the hope that the hot conditions might help the process as a last resort but I couldn’t gather any pace no matter what I tried. ” Doctors have suggested that I need further surgery and that is a one year rehab process and then there is no guarantee on me playing. On that basis it would be unfair for me to push myself to other counties. ” I have had a couple of major injuries before and come back from them. I had the same positive mindset but by Christmas it almost shattered me because, deep down, I knew something was not quite right in the shoulder. ” That helped to prepare me for now but this is a sad day because for the last 16 years all I have done is play cricket whether it’s in England or overseas. ” It is going to take some adjusting to but I am looking at other avenues like coaching and working with young bowlers to keep me involved in the game.” Kabir made his debut for Worcestershire in 1999 and enjoyed a successful 11 year career at New Road during which he played for England in the 2003 Headingley Test against South Africa and took five wickets – including three for 80 in the first innings. That proved to Kabir’s only Test appearance but he played 14 One Day Internationals between 2003 and 2006 and took 20 wickets. He played for Hampshire between 2010 and 2012 and helped them win the Clydesdale Bank 40 title in his farewell appearance for them. Kabir played for Lancashire from 2012 to 2013 and also had stints with Rajasthan in India and the Barisal Burners in the Bangladesh Premier League. Kabir took exactly 500 first-class wicket with 23 five wicket hauls and four ten wicket match returns. His best bowling was eight for 53 against Yorkshire at Scarborough in 2003. ” Representing my country in both Test and One Day International cricket was a huge honour. I would have liked to have played more but no-one can ever take that away from me,” Kabir said. ” I would have liked to have played more cricket but that is water under the bridge now. I am looking forward to moving on and teaching youngsters. ” In county cricket I would have been known as one of the best death bowlers on the circuit and I am very proud of that fact because I worked very hard on one day cricket.” Kabir comes from a strong cricketing family in Birmingham and is the cousin of England batsman/off-spinner Moeen and Kadeer, who played alongside him at Worcestershire before he moved on to Gloucestershire and Leicestershire. ” I am going to miss playing. The hardest part is going to be that all of my family plays cricket and our general topic of conversation at home is cricket,” Kabir says. ” Moeen is obviously doing very well and we have other youngsters coming through the family who are potentially ones to look out for in the near future. ” Not being able to play is going to be difficult but life moves on. I have got a young family and I am looking forward to spending more time with them. ” I would like to thank Lancashire and Hampshire but especially Worcestershire. They gave me the platform when I was very young and I have made some very good friends along the way. ” I owe a lot to my family both my father Shabir and Moeen’s dad Munir because when we started they struggled to make ends meet but they spent a lot of time on me, Moeen and Kadeer. ” I’d also like to say a special thank you to Roger Newman who is someone I have been back to throughout my life whenever I have needed advice. He has always been there and guided me through things. ” Thanks also to Dave Roberts and Sam Byrne, the physiotherapists at Lancashire, and Sharon Morrison, my physio in Birmingham, who worked so hard to try to get me back to fitness.” {{ak_sharing}}
