Shoaib made his last appearance in Pakistan colours just over a year ago when he made an aggregate of 6 runs at Edgbaston in a crushing nine wicket defeat. Subsequently dropped from the national side in all formats, things were to get worse for Malik as he was unable to obtain clearance from the PCB Integrity Committee due to alleged deposits in his overseas bank account resulting.
On Friday the PCB announced Malik’s clearance after he was able to provide evidence that the deposits did not emanate from any questionable source or activity. According to a report in PakPassion, Malik explained that he was delighted to be back in the reckoning for international selection and that his form and performances in domestic cricket had been good enough for a recall.
“I was in very good form during the World Cup. I was in prime form through the domestic season, scoring nearly 800 runs at an average of nearly 90 for PIA in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and I took regular wickets too. Of course I was disappointed to miss out on World Cup selection as it has been my dream to win the 50 over World Cup.” Malik explained that he believes his mental toughness had helped him through such a difficult time in his life and that he was helped though the difficult phase by his wife Sania Mirza Malik.
“Ups and downs are part of life. You have to be mentally strong enough to handle all the things and situations that come your way. My wife Sania has helped me a lot. She’s been playing international tennis for the past 10 to 12 years and the advice she gave me from her experiences in the highs and lows of her tennis career, was invaluable. She’s a great life partner and her support has been enormous,” he added.
“No doubt about it, the past 12 months since the tour of England have been very tough. However the bad times came and they have gone. Now I just want to concentrate on my cricket and do well for my country and see them in the top three in all formats of the game. Malik, who will turn 30 next February, believes that he has a lot of cricket left despite not being selected.
“I feel that I can play cricket for another 6 to 8 years. I just want to play good cricket and despite not being selected for Pakistan I have been training hard. I want to show the world that I am still a good cricketer and that I have what it takes to play and do well at the highest level,” he added.
“I didn’t get selected for the World Cup, so I was given the opportunity to work as a television pundit by one of the channels in India. It worked out quite well as I was working with the television channel as well as practising cricket in India. I took a month and a half of power yoga classes while I was out in India.”
“After Zimbabwe we have some tough series too against Sri Lanka and England also. It would be good if I could get some international cricket under my belt in the Zimbabwe series before the Sri Lanka and England series, but it’s entirely up to the selectors,” he added. Speculation regarding the Pakistan one day and Twenty20 captaincy has seen Malik’s name once again being mentioned, especially given that current incumbent Misbah ul Haq is 37 years old. However Malik refuses to be drawn into the one day captaincy debate.
“I’m not thinking about captaincy at all. All I am thinking about is getting back into the team. I just want to see my name on the team sheet and in the starting eleven. I am just thinking about being consistent, playing good cricket and giving 100 per cent in all formats of the game. Consistency is the key this time around and I want to ensure that I am more consistent for Pakistan,” he said.
Time to move on, says Malik
