Shoaib Malik

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Shoaib Malik

Pakistan
Personal information
Born 1 February 1982 (1982-02-01) (age 26)
Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan
Role All-rounder
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
International information
Test debut (cap 169) 29 August 2001: v Bangladesh
Last Test 22 November 2007: v India
ODI debut (cap 128) 14 October 1999: v West Indies
Last ODI 19 April 2008: v Bangladesh
ODI shirt no. 18
Domestic team information
Years Team
2003/04 Gloucestershire
2001/02-2006/07 Sialkot
1999/00 Pakistan Reserves
1998/99-2007/08 Pakistan International Airlines
1997/98-1998/99 Gujranwala
Career statistics
Tests ODIs FC LA
Matches 21 160 78 226
Runs scored 1076 4291 3002 5869
Batting average 35.86 34.60 28.59 36.91
100s/50s 1/6 5/27 6/14 8/37
Top score 148* 143 148* 143
Balls bowled 1507 5583 10010 8969
Wickets 13 123 163 222
Bowling average 67.00 34.21 30.60 29.56
5 wickets in innings 0 0 5 1
10 wickets in match 0 0 1 0
Best bowling 4/42 4/19 7/81 5/35
Catches/stumpings 9/0 56/0 37/0 87/0

As of 5 May 2008
Source: CricketArchive

Shoaib Malik (Urdu: شعیب ملک) (born 1 February 1982 in Sialkot) is the current captain of the Pakistani cricket team. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh.

In the current LG ICC ODI All-Rounder Rankings Malik is ranked number 1.LG ICC Cricket Rankings

Contents

International career

He started his career as just an off spinner, and is now regarded as a useful bowling all-rounder with a batting average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket.

Malik is regarded as a flexible player. He is capable of hitting big shots but is also capable of rotating the strike with good placement. He has a strike rate of 77.23 runs per 100 balls, which compares favourably to players such as Rahul Dravid and Inzamam ul-Haq. His most brazen display of "power hitting" came in 2003 against South Africa when he scored 82 from 41 balls. As is required of most modern players he also has displayed good defensive batting at times. He has taken over 100 ODI wickets at an average under 35 and economy rate below 4.5. His bowling action has come under scrutiny (particularly his doosra) but he has had elbow surgery to correct this.

In Tests, he has a better batting average against Sri Lanka and South Africa than other nations. In ODIs he has a better batting average against India, South Africa, and the West Indies than his overall career average. During his Test career, Malik has batted at 5 different positions and he has the unusual record of batting at every position except 11th in ODIs. Pakistan's problems in finding a reliable opening pair have led to Malik being used as an opener in Test and ODI matches.

Captaincy

Following Inzamam-ul-Haq's resignation as Pakistan captain after the 2007 World Cup, Shoaib Malik was put forward as one of the names for the captaincy along with Younus Khan and Mohammad Yousuf. After Younus Khan's rejection, Malik was the popular choice as a younger captain and was seen to represent a fresh start after the Inzamam era.

Former skipper Imran Khan, who led the team to World Cup glory, backed Malik for the role, stating, "He appears to have a good cricket brain and could turn out to be a very good choice for Pakistan cricket."

Malik was appointed Captain on 19 April 2007 by the Pakistan Cricket Board His experience considering his relatively young age and consistent performances are cited as other reasons for his appointment. His vice-captain was initially Mohammad Asif, followed by Salman Butt, although Younus Khan was recently appointed his deputy when Butt was dropped from the team.

In Malik's first series as captain, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in an ODI series in Abu Dhabi. His next assignments were home Test and ODI series against South Africa which Pakistan lost 1-0 and 3-2 respectively. 3-2 was the score in favour of India when Pakistan subsequently played an ODI series against their arch-rivals. Malik hit 89 and took three wickets in the final match, which Pakistan won by 31 runs.

Notable Performances

In Test cricket he made a big impression with his match-saving innings against Sri Lanka, in which he batted for the whole day and finished with 148 runs not out. His bowling has been effective at times, especially in one-day cricket where his best bowling figures are four wickets for 19 runs (4/19) in addition to many 3-wicket hauls.

Controversy

Malik came under criticism in India for his statement after losing the final of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.[1] After the match he stated, "I want to thank you back home (in) Pakistan and where the Muslim lives all over the world." The mother of India's man of the match, Irfan Pathan, a Muslim, said: "Shoaib must have said that for his own countrymen, how can he speak for all the Muslims of the world? The way Irfan and Yusuf played for India, that's all that matters to us. They have made us proud of the way India won the Cup."[2] He was also criticised by some Pakistani fans for his comments, while others stated that the Indian media was creating a controversy by misinterpreting his statement.[3][4]

References

External links

Preceded by
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Pakistan Cricket Captain
2007 – present
Incumbent