Shoaib Malik hits a double century
Pakistan’s discarded all-rounder Shoaib Malik has hit a two hundred run knock off 313 balls in the first innings of a four day match against Faisalabad in the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.
Malik, by scoring this knock, led his team PIA (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-International-Airlines-c831) to a total of 438 runs for Faisalabad to follow.
The former Pakistan captain has definitely given his national selectors something to ponder upon. Such a performance is a good sign for Malik and perhaps now he might have managed to get the attention of the selectors.
Malik can get maximum practice by playing in the domestic league and if he keeps giving a commendable performance, it is likely that he will get his place back in the national squad just before the cricket World Cup.
The way Mohammad Hafeez is batting and bowling, Malik will have to bat his heart out in the Quaid-i-Azam trophy and make his place in the Pakistan team purely on the basis of his batting because there is always a place for a good batsman in the Pakistani
squad.
Malik along with Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousaf will establish a formidable middle order batting line-up. Such a combination will be difficult to bowl at by any bowler. But all depends on the way the discarded former captain performs in domestic cricket.
The all-rounder made his One Day International (ODI) debut against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 in 2001 that he made his Test debut. Malik has taken over a hundred One Day International wickets and has a batting average of a little
more than 33 in Tests and 34 in One Day Internationals.
Malik was appointed captain of the national squad after the retirement of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-Young-c41367 player and there were senior players in the team, the board was of the opinion that Malik will give a fresh start
to the team and as a younger player he will have the opportunity to lead the team for a long time to come.
At the age of 25, Malik was Pakistan’s fourth youngest captain. In his first series as captain he led the team to a One Day series victory 2-1 over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, where Pakistan lost in the
Test and the ODI series. Pakistan also lost an ODI series against their arch rivals http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 3-2.
Malik’s captaincy lasted for two years. Later he was removed as the skipper of the national side on the behest of a report filed against him by the coach and manager in which they heavily criticized Malik’s leadership, they accused him of lacking leadership
and not giving opinions in team meetings.
After this the young skipper was removed and a senior player Younis Khan was made the captain of Pakistan cricket team in all the formats.
Malik was slapped with a one year ban in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 2010, from playing in the Pakistan team by the Pakistan Cricket Board because he was charged for causing infighting. Nevertheless, the ban was overturned in May 2010, subsequently getting him selected to play
for Pakistan in the 2010 Asia Cup.
Malik was later dropped from the side due to lack of commitment and performance from the squad which played against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in England in June 2010. Since then Malik has not been able to make his comeback, but now with his latest double century in a domestic
match, his fortunes just might change for the better.
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