Shoaib Malik, veteran Pakistan all-rounder after once expressing his interest to feature in the Champions Trophy 2025, has finally broken silence on his future in the Pakistan cricket team. Malik, who is the only player to make his debut in the 1990s and continue to be an active cricketer in internationals. Although, he hasn’t featured in the side since 2021, the veteran hasn’t announced retirement either.
Recently, while speaking to the media at Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) event, Malik clarified that he doesn’t have any interest in playing for the national side. “I have already said that I do not have any interest in playing for the Pakistan cricket team. I have already retired from two formats, Test and ODIs. In T20Is, I do not have any interest in playing for Pakistan team. So my plan is to retire from all forms of cricket once and for all,” Malik said.
While he retired from Test cricket in 2015, scoring 1898 runs from 35 Tests, he had a long ODI career, featuring in 287 matches and scoring 7534 runs.
Why did Shoaib Malik deny top job by PCB ahead of T20 World Cup 2024? Cricketer reveals reason
The 42-year-old also made a big claim during the PCB event that he was offered the selector’s post prior to the T20 World Cup 2024, which was held in the USA and West Indies. However, he denied the post and has now revealed the reason of his denial, leading to Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq continue their position.
The Pakistan cricketer also clarified that he is still playing cricket and it won’t do justice if he had to select the players with whom he has been playing. “I only received an offer before the T20 World Cup to become the selector. At that time, the entire selection committee had equal powers as there was no chief selector. But my reason was that I am still playing cricket and how can I select those cricketers with whom I play so it did not make sense that you play cricket and become a part of the selection committee simultaneously,” he said during a PCB event.
The Babar Azam-led side suffered a shocking defeat against USA in their opening game at the T20 World Cup, followed by a defeat against their arch-rivals, India. The side had to bow out of the tournament after the group stage.