Written by: Shiraz Aslam
Posted on: March 28, 2023 | 
| 中文
Shoaib Malik
“Jack of all trades, master of none,” aptly describes Shoaib Malik, an underappreciated, overlooked gem of Pakistani cricket. The brilliance of Malik is that he may be the most versatile and handy cricketer for the green army. It took the team a decade to figure out his exact position in the squad; the veteran entered the spotlight as an off-break spinner and later transitioned into a top-order batsman before becoming a middle-order anchor and the slogger brought in towards the end. His athleticism was and remains second to none, as he has established himself as one of the game’s finest fielders.
Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi after winning the 2009 T20 World Cup
To put it into perspective, in terms of the current cricket squad, the husband of Sania Mirza can run between the wickets like Muhammad Rizwan, anchor the innings like Babar Azam, provide a calm presence like Shan Masood, smash the ball for sixes like Asif Ali and produce an economical spell like Shadab Khan. The 41-year-old Shoaib Malik of today is still completely capable of fulfilling these taxing duties on the cricket ground.
Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam running between the wickets
The handiness of having Malik at the crease is that the scoreboard keeps ticking. Even when he isn’t hitting boundaries, his freakish cat-like agility allows him to convert ones into twos, and twos into threes. Furthermore, with him outside the 30-yard squared circle, one can guarantee that boundaries will be reduced to twos, courtesy of his reliability and efficiency as an outfield fielder.
A minor glance at his achievements, stats, and feats is a testament to the batting all-rounder’s credibility. In the 124 T20I matches he played, Malik scored more than 2400 runs, becoming the highest run-scorer in the shortest format for the green caps. Considering the era that he was groomed in, he has maintained an impressive average with a mildly aggressive strike rate. The veteran stepped up to the task when the pressure-cooker was brewing in high-stakes encounters against India, consistently performing in One Day Internationals with a mouth-watering batting average of 50. Who could ever forget his match-winning glorious innings of 141 runs against our neighbors in the 2004 ODI Asia Cup? Hence, Malik was a big-match player.
Shoaib Malik, Sania Mirza and Shahrukh Khan
What is most remarkable is Shoaib Malik’s longevity, for he is the undisputed time-traveler of Pakistani cricket. His ODI career lasted nearly two decades, the fifth longest for any cricketer. Malik entered the squad as a young gun, when the ruthless top-class fast-bowling duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis spearheaded the team. Fast forward to a few years later, he became a valuable addition to the batting line-up, alongside the likes of Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Yusuf, and Misbah Ul Haq. Following a long hiatus from glory, the former captain of the green caps returned to the spotlight for a farewell comeback tour in international cricket, where he played alongside modern stalwarts like Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi.
They all came, saw and conquered. Malik was there the whole time, yet the public does not hold the veteran in the same light as Afridi or Imran Khan. This may be because the batting all-rounder was never a regular fixture in the eleven-man squad, as he was consistently in and out of the team. As good as he was, the Karachi Kings batting all-rounder was quite inconsistent in his batting, especially in the longer formats of international cricket.
(L to R) Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq
This links to the idiomatic expression provided at the outset, the 41-year-old former captain was good in almost all aspects of the sport. Still, he never had one dominant monopolized skill that would have sustained his position in the squad. Malik was a fantastic finisher towards the tail-end of the innings, but his slogging paled compared to Shahid Afridi’s long-range six-hitting. He possessed sufficient technique and class in his shots, but Muhammad Yusuf’s cover drives would generate more revenue if the strokes were priced. When the top-order collapsed, the right-handed batsman was a bulwark in the middle-order. However, the resilient Misbah-Ul-Haq anchored the entire Pakistani batting line-up more regularly and effectively than Malik did.
Shoaib Malik handing debut cap to Fakhar Zaman
Shoaib Malik has retired from the international circuit but continues to play on the domestic scene, including the Pakistan Cricket League. Now assuming a celebrity-like status, Malik has now become a television host. Alongside Sania Mirza, the married couple hosts The Mirza Malik show, presented by Spotify. Whether as a cricketer or celebrity, keeping the Sialkot Stallion out of the spotlight is borderline impossible.
Shoaib Malik with his wife, Sania Mirza, and his son, Izhan Mirza Malik
Love him or hate him, one cannot deny Shoaib Malik. He was a unique character on the field with a significant, incomparable presence. Although he may be allotted a different level of prestige, he belongs in the elite league of the greatest and biggest names in Pakistani cricket.
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