Shoaib Malik breaks silence on T20 World Cup snub, opens up on relation with Pakistan captain Babar Azam
Shoaib Malik opened up on his exclusion from the T20 World Cup squad and also on his relation with present Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
Amid the talks about Pakistan’s middle-order woes after their campaign in the 2022 Asia Cup in the UAE, there was a growing chorus of veteran cricketers who opined that the management should bring back the experience Shoaib Malik, who played a couple of handy knocks in a domestic tournament in September. But the veteran batter was snubbed, a decision which was criticised by many. On Thursday, Malik opened up on his exclusion from the T20 World Cup squad and also on his relation with present Pakistan captain Babar Azam.
During Pakistan’s Asia Cup campaign, Malik was part of the 2022 National T20 Cup at home where he scored 204 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 140.68 with two fifties. The veteran batter, who was not picked in any T201 series since the contest against Bangladesh last November after the T20 World Cup, also performed impressively in the 2022 Pakistan Super League, scoring 401 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 137.32, with three fifties. Yet, Malik failed to make his return to the Pakistan squad for the World Cup, but the 40-year-old showed no regret.
Speaking to Samaa TV on his World Cup snub, Malik said that his selection was entirely on the selection committee and the team management, and that he would not want to blame anyone for his exclusion.
“Dekhiye mera kaam hain cricket khelna jaha pe bhi mujhe opportunity mile. Select karna, na karna woh team management, selection committee ya PCB ka hain. Mera hain ki jaha opportunity mile main woh avail karne ki koshish karu and acha perform karne ki koshish karu. Mujhe kisise koi problem nehi hain. Main kisike koi against nehi hu kyumki positive rehna has been a major reason behind the success in my career,” he said.
Malik also talked about his relation with Babar. He revealed that while he was in constant touch with Babar, he gave him that space given his captaincy duties and added that he never pressurised or tried to convince the skipper for his selection.
“Humlog consistent basis pe baat karte hain. Haa, pehle bohot zyada tha, lekin jab koi captain ban jata hain toh unko woh space dena chahiye. Main khud iss cheez se ghuzra hu. Isiliye maine aajtak koi pressure nehi dala na kabhi dalunga na kabhi convince karne ki koshish karunga,” he added.
