Inzamam-ul Haq announced on Friday he would retire from international cricket after the second Test against South Africa, which starts on Monday, saying his presence in the team could put pressure on a young captain.

The 37-year-old former captain told a news conference that he still has 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 out "gracefully".

"I thought about my future a lot and although I felt I can play for another one or two years but 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.

• Inzamam-ul Haq factfile

"But I think this is the best time for me to move on and give the younger players a chance to cement their place. I have not taken this decision under any pressure from anyone," he added.

Inzamam had stepped down as captain and retired from one-day internationals after his team was eliminated in the first round of the World Cup in the West Indies [Images] in March after a shock defeat to Ireland.

He said people needed to be patient with the new captain and team and was confident they would go on to achieve things that he could not get as captain.

"I have no regrets. I have had a fulfilling career for Pakistan although our poor performance in the 2007 World Cup would remain the lowest point of my career," Inzamam said.

Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board said Inzamam had come to him with his own decision.

"I am proud that he is setting a new trend in Pakistan cricket which, hopefully, will become a tradition in our cricket and our players get a chance to retire gracefully and with honour," Ashraf said.

He denied that PCB had pressurised Inzamam into announcing his retirement after paying him off with 10 million rupees.

"That is not correct. This is not about any deal with Inzamam. But, yes, after the Lahore [Images] Test we will be doing our best to honour him and make his farewell a memorable and befitting one," he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's selectors included Inzamam and Mohammad Yuusuf in the squad for the second Test.

Chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said Inzamam and senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf [Images] would play.

"Inzamam and Yousuf should add depth to the batting line-up for an important Test," he said.

Pakistan are in danger of losing the first Test which is in its fifth day in Karachi.

Yousuf pulled out of the first Test at the last moment, saying he was not match fit after having not played any cricket or trained since early August.

But the selector said Yousuf had remained with the team and trained with them. He said Inzamam had also been training and had just returned after playing for county side Yorkshire in England [Images].

Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik [Images] (Capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq [Images], Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Salman Butt [Images], Taufiq Umar, Faisal Iqbal [Images], Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez [Images], Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Asif [Images], Umar Gul, Misbah-ul-Haq and Rao Iftikhar.