Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, one of Pakistan’s most prolific batsmen with a record 25 centuries to his credit, announced his retirement from Test cricket on Friday, bringing the curtains down on an illustrious career spanning over 16 years.

The second Test against South Africa beginning in Lahore on Monday will be his swansong Test for which he has been guaranteed a place in the playing eleven.

The 37-year-old former captain told a news conference that he still had a couple of years’ cricket left in him but after much thought and with a tinge of sadness he took the decision because he wanted to go “gracefully”.

“I thought about my future a lot and although I felt I can play for another one or two years, I think my presence in the dressing room might put pressure on the new captain and other players, so I have decided to retire now gracefully,” Inzamam said.

The mainstay of Pakistan’s batting line-up for years, scored 8813 runs in 119 Tests for an impressive average of 50.07. He needs another 20 runs to surpass Javed Miandad’s record of 8,832 runs in 124 Tests.

Inzamam had announced retirement from one-day cricket following Pakistan’s World Cup fiasco in March this year and his career had its share of controversies, including the Oval walkout against England.

“I think this is the best time for me to move on and give the younger players a chance to cement their place,” he added.

The squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Yasir Hameed, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Misbah-ul-Haq and Rao Iftikhar.