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Shoaib Malik Profile And Biography
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Full name |
Shoaib Malik |
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Born |
February 1,
1982, Sialkot, Punjab |
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Current age |
26 years |
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Batting style |
Right-hand
bat |
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Bowling style |
Right-arm
offbreak |
Major teams
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Pakistan,
Asia XI, Delhi Daredevils, Gloucestershire, Gujranwala
Cricket Association, Pakistan International Airlines,
Pakistan Reserves, Sialkot Cricket Association |
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Profile |
Short of wicket
keeping, there are few roles that have passed Shoaib
Malik by on the cricket field. He has batted in every
position in ODIs since his debut in 1999. He began at
Test level batting in the lower-order and was even used
as an opener, astonishingly, proving himself to be an
adept one. As an off spinner |
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in the modern mould, everything about his bowling, from
short-stepping run-up to the doosra, bear striking
similarities with Saqlain Mushtaq (though not as obviously
gifted). And the action isn't clean enough - he has been
reported twice at international level - once in October 2004
after which he played primarily as a batsman for the next six
months, before undergoing elbow surgery to correct his
action. And he was again reported in November 2005, after
which he underwent elbow surgery again in early 2006. But it
is his intelligence and versatility that mark him out and
make him so vital to Pakistan's future. After Bob Woolmer's
arrival, he became one of Pakistan's most intelligent ODI
batsmen, regularly marshalling chases from one-down, setting
up platforms for big totals as a thruster, scoring runs in
vital
 matches
and being at the heart of Pakistan's ODI resurgence. He is an
uncomplicated batsman, with checked drives and cuts and
useful slogs when needed. Against India, both in 2005 and
2006, all these qualities came to the fore. Yet, he can still
come in at number six as he did against South Africa in 2003
once and blast 82 from 40 balls. More significantly, he has
settled at Test level, scoring a vital, match-saving hundred
against Sri Lanka at Colombo. Injuries kept him out of Tests
against England and South Africa but as he returned to the
ODI side with a World Cup looming, his batting intelligence
was again shining through. He was talked in private circles
within the PCB, as a future captain before he was given the
job after Pakistan's disastrous World Cup ouster in 2007 and
duly responded by guiding Pakistan to a series win over World
Cup finalists Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi and reaching the final
of the ICC World Twenty20. However, that was followed by
Test-series defeats against South Africa and India, before
presiding over a 12-ODI winning streak, a Pakistan record,
albeit against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Against meaningful
opposition, the pressure mounted on Malik to produce
consistent results and a timely victory in the Kitply Cup
final against India finally gave him and his side much-needed
credibility. Malik however couldn't repeat match those
efforts in the Asia Cup at home as Pakistan failed to reach
the summit. |
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