Zaheer Khan retires from internationals

Indian left-arm pacer posted the news on his Facebook page

MUMBAI: India fast-bowler Zaheer Khan announced his retirement from international cricket on Thursday but says he will continue to play the domestic Twenty20 form of the game.

The 37-year-old left-arm paceman, a part of India's 50-over World Cup winning team in 2011, last played for the country in a test match in New Zealand in February last year.

"With immediate effect, I bid adieu to my career in international cricket. I look forward to signing off my last season in domestic cricket at the conclusion of Indian Premier League season 9," Zaheer said on his official Facebook page.

“The toughest call in a cricketing career is when one has to walk away from the game itself. You almost 'will' yourself and want to push that few extra miles but then the body, after nearly two decades, decides not to respond.

“As I was training for the upcoming season, it dawned on me that my shoulder may not last the rigours of bowling, nearly eighteen overs a day, and that's when I knew it was time.”

Zaheer, who played the first of his 92 tests against Bangladesh in 2000, has been saddled with injuries in the last few years. He took 311 test wickets and 282 in one-day internationals, the fourth highest totals in both formats for India.