Malik reveals a startling confession of discussion with Babar!
Malik reveals a startling confession of discussion with Babar! Pakistan lost the Asia Cup 2022 final in Dubai, which was a big disappointment. Their batters did a shockingly lousy job of scoring runs as they tried to win by 171 runs. Only three of Pakistan’s batters were able to score in the double digits, and they were bowled out with 147 runs. The Pakistan cricket community had a lot to say about this loss because it showed again that one of the team’s biggest problems is that it doesn’t have a strong middle-order. So, the focus went to Shan Masood and Shoaib Malik, two batters who weren’t on the team for the Asia Cup 2022. People talked a lot about the latter because he had so much experience playing the game.
Before the Asia Cup in September, Pakistan had only played one T20I. Shoaib Malik was on the team for its last T20I series, which was in 2021. So, the fact that he wasn’t on the team got a lot of attention. Now, a six-month-old video of the 40-year-old Pakistani star’s interview with Cricket Pakistan is making the rounds on social media and has revealed some startling things about his talks with captain Babar Azam about the Asia Cup team.
About Shoaib’s discussion with Babar
“Yes, I talked to Babar. He asked me if I wanted to retire when we were at the (T20) World Cup (2021). See, there should be a transparent conversation on these things, everyone should know what I want. I’ve played for so many years, I think I deserve that much. There must be some clarity on what the board wants and what the player wants,” Malik said in the video when asked if he had talked to the Pakistan captain.
“So, Babar asked me that. I told him, ‘Babar, considering the environment right now and whatever happened with me during the recent past, I don’t want to play. If you want an answer on my fitness or whether I could be a burden on team, there’s nothing like that. You know my fitness. If you want me to play, though, I will be available for Pakistan.”
Babar had the final say!
Malik then said that both he and Babar agreed that Babar would make the final decision about whether or not to play the veteran Pakistan batter in certain series or games. “(I said), ‘if you want me to play selected matches or series, I want you to communicate that to me. If you think I can play longer, I am available’. He said, ‘okay, you play. I will let you know which series you will play’. We talked about this during the World Cup right before we had the series against Bangladesh. Before the Windies series, he said he wanted to test some new guys, so he rested me.”
“Before the one-off Australia T20I, he told me that I will tell you. I told Babar, ‘if you think I’m not needed anymore, you can tell me. I understand that there are new players coming up. I will be happy to step aside’.”
Retired players and the “deserved” respect.
Malik also said that he was sad that Pakistani cricketers who had retired didn’t get the respect they “deserved.”“In recent past, there have been many legends in our country who didn’t receive the send-off they deserved. Every cricketer wants that. Mohammad Hafeez retired recently, and we could have showed a small gesture in way of a trophy or a souvenir to him during the PSL to thank him for his services,” Malik said.