Ihsanullah takes a u-turn after retirement announcement from PSL

LAHORE: Pakistan pacer Ihsanullah has taken back the retirement from the Pakistan Super League (PSL) just hours after announcing it, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Talking to a news channel, Ihsanullah apologised for his earlier statement, saying he made the decision in the heat of the moment after being ignored in the PSL draft.

Ihsanullah said, “There’s no plan for retirement, I announced the decision yesterday in emotions”.

Explaining the reason behind his emotional decision, Ihsanullah said “When I wasn’t picked in the PSL draft, my friends & family also messed with my head and I announced retirement in the heat of the moment”.

He pledged to work hard, vowing to show a remarkable comeback in domestic cricket so that the same people (PSL owners) would select him again who ignored him today.

Ihsanullah also apologized to the PSL franchise for his statement, saying he would be available for Multan Sultans whenever they call him, adding that he will also make a comeback for green shirts with superb performance.

The 22-year-old pacer expressed his gratitude to Ali Khan Tareen, the owner of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for sending him abroad for medical treatment of elbow injury.

Earlier, citing frustration over being ignored by franchises, Ihsanullah announced his retirement from the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after being snubbed in the HBL PSL 10 draft.

Meanwhile, Ali Khan Tareen also made a shocking claim about Ihsanullah, saying that he will never be able to bowl too fast again.

“It is a very sad development but we got Ihsanullah consulted with a top surgeon, who gave us a really bad news, saying that guys, I can do the surgery but no matter what I do, there is so much scaring from his previously botched surgery that his arm will never become perfectly straight and he will never be able to bowl in the same way because he does not have a straight arm”, the Multan Sultans owner said.

Ali Khan Tareen added that it is so unfortunate that one person ‘ruined’ a player’s career to hide his ‘mistake.

“That’s why even now, he was bowling in domestic at 130-135, which is a high pace but he was our 155 [kmph] bowler,” Ali Khan Tareen added.

With an incredible PSL 2023 season in which Ihsanullah ended as the second-highest wicket-taker with 22 for Multan Sultans, he catapulted to fame. His ability to consistently reach 150 kmp/h on the speed gun was the most impressive feature of his breakthrough performance.

After that, he was quickly promoted to the Pakistani team, making T20I debut against Afghanistan in March 2023 but an elbow injury sustained during his April 2023 ODI debut against New Zealand ended his rise.

Ihsanullah made a comeback in competitive cricket in December 2024, representing Dolphins in the Champions T20 cup but failed to impress with the ball. The right-arm pacer could only take two wickets in four many matches with an average and economy of 62.5 and 11.19 respectively.