Shoaib Malik not up for retirement before scoring 15,000 runs in T20Is
Cricket
Advises against including players in national team before they achieve int'l fitness level
LAHORE (Web Desk) – Former Pakistan Cricket team captain Shoaib Malik said he was not thinking about retirement from international cricket as he had to score 15,000 runs in the T-twenty International (T20I) cricket yet.
The right-handed all-rounder has, to date, scored 2435 runs in 124 T20Is at an average of 31.22. On the other hand, the star batsman finds himself on the third spot on the list of highest scorers in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with 2033 runs in 76 matches so far.
In an interview, he said he would keep playing T20I until he was fit. “I will announce the retirement once I feel the burden”, he added. Whenever he gets the chance to bat or bowl, he said, he tried to showcase his best performance.
He said Karachi Kings’ morale was boosted after defeating Lahore Qalandars as it was a strong team. “They have a lethal bowling attack”, he added. Multan Sultans were, he said, performing very well at their home ground and we would like to take advantage of their weaknesses.
Multan Sultans will lock horns with Karachi Kings at Multan Cricket Stadium Wednesday evening.
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 19, 2023
Hailing Iftikhar Ahmad, he said he witnessed Iftikhar playing in Bangladesh Premier League where he had projected excellent cricket.
He said talented cricketers such as Ihsanullah and Abbas Afridi should not be included in the national team before they were fit as per international standards. “Ihsan must bowl at the speed of 145km/hour even after four overs [maximum number of overs a bowler is allowed to bowl in T20I]", he added.
