Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed on Monday clarified his previous statement that had given rise to speculation about his retirement from international cricket.

Former Pakistan cricket team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has responded to rumours of his possible retirement, stressing that the decision to retire from international cricket was purely his “personal decision”.

The experienced wicketkeeper-batter, who is mentoring the Faheem Ashraf-led Dolphins in the ongoing Champions T20 Cup, previously commented on his future as a player, saying: "There is nothing more to say."

In an interview, the 37-year-old wicketkeeper-batter confirmed that he is still actively playing cricket regardless of his selection status in the national team.

"Yes, I said the other day that there is nothing more to say. Look, I am still playing cricket and I will take every opportunity that comes my way," Sarfaraz explained. "As far as quitting cricket is concerned, that is my personal decision. If I feel that I should quit cricket, I will quit."

Sarfaraz, who made his debut for Pakistan in 2007, has had an illustrious career in which he represented the national team in 54 Tests, 117 ODIs and 61 T20Is, scoring 6,164 runs, including six centuries and 32 half-centuries.

The wicketkeeper-batsman led Pakistan to its first ICC Men's Champions Trophy title in 2017 after a resounding 180-run victory over arch-rivals India in the blockbuster final.

He also captained Pakistan to 11 consecutive T20I series wins, the most by a Pakistani captain. His last appearance for the green jerseys came in a three-match away Test series against Australia last year.

The right-handed batsman managed to score seven runs in the opening Test of the aforementioned series and was subsequently dropped from the team.

Sarfaraz Ahmed's last appearance for Pakistan with the white ball, meanwhile, dates back to November 2021.