Pakistan Women's Cricketer Kainat Imtiaz Retires to Become Match Referee

Kainat Imtiaz, a pacer for the Pakistan women's national cricket team, announced her retirement from international cricket on October 4, 2026, after a 13-year career. She represented Pakistan in 19 ODIs and 21 T20Is, taking 18 wickets across both formats, and was part of Pakistan's gold medal-winning teams at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games, as well as participating in the 2017 Women's World Cup and 2022 Commonwealth Games. Following her retirement, Imtiaz has embarked on a new career as a match referee, inspired by her mother, Saleema Imtiaz, the first Pakistani woman umpire on the ICC's International Development Panel. Kainat has already officiated matches in Pakistan's National Women’s Under-19 T20 Tournament and has also been involved in cricket broadcasting as a presenter and commentator during her playing career.