After more than ten years of representing Pakistan in green, Nida Dar, undoubtedly one of Pakistan cricket’s finest all-rounders, has decided to take a break from cricket indefinitely. Dar has cited personal and mental reasons behind this decision. The 38-year-old took to social media to make the announcement. In her tweet, she opened up about how recent experiences, both on and off the field, have weighed on her.
“A lot of things have happened in the past with me personally and professionally, and this has affected my mental health,” Dar wrote on X. “For this reason, I am taking a break for a while from cricket to focus on myself.”
She attached no timeline to her return, but her break rules out the possibility of her retiring, not yet, anyway. Dar had been a constant presence in Pakistan’s dressing room since 2010, though she has not been a part of any of the side’s games since October 2024, when she last played an international fixture during the Women’s T20 World Cup. She, along with Aliya Riaz, was stripped of her central contract in November last year.
Dar was not among the squad that recently secured qualification for the Women’s ODI World Cup in India with her team going unbeaten in the Qualifiers played on their home soil. And though the team’s incredible performance garnered widespread attention, Dar’s absence felt like quite a subplot, especially when she was part of the training camp ahead of the Qualifiers.
Pakistan’s next assignment is a T20I series in August against Ireland as a build-up to the ODI World Cup in September. It’s understood that Nida Dar was not part of Pakistan’s plans going forward anyway, particularly with the board focusing more on younger players. Her fitness, especially in the longer format, has understandably been a sore point. On top of that, a failed fitness test a few months ago didn’t help her chances either.
In terms of performance, her numbers have not really been too kind, especially with the bat. After having a stellar year in 2021 and 2022, her average took a steep dip. She has only gone past 30 runs twice in the T20Is she featured in during 2023 and 2024, declining her average to 17 while striking at the paltry rate of just 100. While she still had her days with the ball, she did not carry the same dominance, with both her bowling average and economy rate worsening since 2023.
Reportedly, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was not informed of the decision before the announcement.
Nida holds the record for the most T20I wickets by a Pakistani woman cricketer, thanks to her 144 scalps, second only to Australia’s Megan Schutt. With the bat, she is the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is for Pakistan, trailed only by Bismah Maroof.
Dar has led Pakistan in 24 WT20Is and 13 WODIs. She also captained the side in the Asian Games. Way before Pakistan’s men’s team defeated India in an ICC event, Dar was the protagonist in edging the Indian women’s team in a T20 World Cup in 2012.
This isn’t a very befitting end to a career that was as happening as Dar’s, but she has not ever been for anticlimactic ends. Never was. Never will be.
