http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Malik-c90088: A vital player for Pakistan cricket – Part One
After spending one year in the side-lines, former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045, where Pakistan will play a Test match, three One Day Internationals
(ODI) and a couple of T20 Internationals.
While giving an Interview to a Pakistani website, Malik claimed that the last one year has been the worst period of his life. However, the middle order batsman is geared up to perform well for Pakistan in future and
claims that he wants to see Pakistan amongst the top ranked teams of international cricket in all the three formats of the game.
Malik said, "No doubt about it, the past 12 months since the tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 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 3 rankings in
all formats of the game. If you are in the right then you have to wait for your time. I was just waiting for my time and waiting for my clearance. The field of play is the best place for cricketers like myself to show what they are capable of."
Malik came through the ranks of junior cricket in Pakistan as he played the Under-16 and the Under-19 world cups for the Green Shirts. He started his career as a right arm off-spinner and played all the junior cricket primarily as a genuine bowler, who had
modelled his action on the legendary off-spinner, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saqlain-Mushtaq-c88743.
In his early days, Malik was picked by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-International-Airlines-c831 (PIA), which was the same department of Saqlain. The two of them played domestic cricket for PIA, which gave an ideal opportunity for Malik to enhance his skills under the guidance of
Saqlain.
The young off-spinner from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sialkot-c842 made his ODI debut for Pakistan in 1999 at Sharjah, where he impressed one and all because of his similarities with Saqlain’s bowling action. However, his bowling form soon dipped and Malik failed to cement his place in
the national team.
After facing some problems with his bowling action, Shoaib decided to take on his batting more seriously. He scored some heavy runs in the domestic cricket of Pakistan and caught the eyes of the selectors once again in 2001-02. He played some matches for
Pakistan with regular intervals as an all-rounder and scored a couple of centuries while batting up the order.
After Pakistan’s debacle in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, Malik started to get regular opportunities with the national team and he cemented his place in the limited overs cricket. He excelled with both bat and ball and also emerged as one of the
best fielders in the national team. He got the liking of the then captain and coach of the Pakistan team, Inzamam ul Haq and the late http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Robert-Andrew-Woolmer-c85587, and the two of them showed immense confidence on the youngster’s abilities.
Pakistan team management promoted Malik up the order in both Test cricket and limited overs cricket. He was regularly used in Inzamam’s regime as an opener in Test cricket. One can easily say that the period between 2004 till 2006 has been the prime of his
career so far.
To be continued in part two . . .
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