ERIC Hirwa Dusabemungu, captain of the men’s national cricket team, has called time on his international cricket career.

His retirement was announced by the Rwanda Cricket Association on Sunday. The 33-year old played for the national team for 14 years.

Commenting on Dusabemungu’s retirement, Eddie Balaba Mugarura, the president of Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA), hailed his influence in the development of the cricket game in Rwanda, noting that the cricket body looks forward to closely working with him in future.

"He already has a long history as the player of the national team and he will hopefully build more history as a coach,” Mugarura said in a telephone interview with Times Sport on Monday.

"Dusabemungu was a dependable player in the national team.  He's also influential as a mentor to younger generations and we hope he's going to continue contributing to the development of the Cricket game in Rwanda," he added. 

Dusabemungu has been the national team skipper since 2018 after he inherited the captaincy from Eric Dusingizimana who is currently serving as the general manager of the Gahanga International Cricket Stadium.

During his leadership, Dusabemungu captained Rwanda through the Regional World T20 Africa ‘B’ Qualifiers staged at Gahanga Cricket Oval, Kigali, in 2018. 

It is expected that following his retirement, Dusabemungu’s immediate focus will be embarking on his coaching career. He runs a cricket academy for girls at Ndera Cricket Hub, in Gasabo District.