Have no plans to retire for now: Shoaib Malik

Onecricket

Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has cleared the air on his retirement and has said that he has no intentions of taking such a decision for now. 

“I am saying very clearly today I have not even thought about retirement. I have no plans to retire now because I am fit, I can bat, and I can bowl,” the 39-year-old batsman told the media on Friday.

The right-hander further revealed that he has signed two-year contracts with some leagues. “I have recently signed two-year contracts in some leagues so where does the question of me taking retirement after the World Cup arise,” he said.

Malik pointed out that he can bat, can bowl, is generally stationed at the hotspots while fielding and has been clearing the fitness tests, so the question of him getting retired shouldn’t come up. 

“I can field in hotspots, I can take two runs and I can save two runs. When I have to bowl I can also bowl and I am batting well. My fitness is top grade,” he said.

The right-handed all-rounder has featured in 35 Tests, 287 ODIs and 116 T20Is for Pakistan. He has notched up 1898 runs in the Tests, averaging just over 35 while has amassed over 7500 runs in ODIs and more than 2300 runs in the T20Is respectively. 

He also has 32 wickets in the longer format of the game while has 158 scalps in ODIs and 28 in T20Is. Malik last played for Pakistan in a T20I last year against England in Manchester. 



 

Discover more

Top Stories
news

Was looking to bowl dot ball to De Villiers but ended up getting him out: Harpreet Brar

Punjab Kings Harpreet Brar had a superb outing against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday in Ahmedabad after he first chipped in with a brisk and unbeaten 25 off 17 and then scalped three wickets that included the dismissals of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers during the course. The left-arm spinner cleaned up Kohli and Maxwell on consecutive deliveries while removing ABD after the former South African cricketer was caught by PBKS captain KL Rahul at short cover. Explaining about ABD’s dismissal, Brar said that he was more looking to bowl a dot ball but managed to get a wicket instead. “My plan against De Villiers was to bowl a touch wider outside off-stump and out of his slot since the ball was gripping a bit. That’s why I brought in a slip and had covers to come up slightly. I wanted to bowl a dot but also managed to get a wicket. I am blessed,” Brar said. The spinner also explained the strategy that he executed against Kohli. “My strategy was to hit the right length and not worry even if he hits me for a boundary. If the batsman charges down the track then you alter the length,” Brar said. Punjab finally tasted some success in the IPL 2021 after they were able to defend a target of 180 after restricting RCB to 145/8 in 20 overs. Bangalore’s middle order was rattled by the spin duo of Brar and Ravi Bishnoi as the two bowlers shared a total of five wickets among themselves. Earlier, Rahul cored an unbeaten 91. Punjab Kings will now take on Delhi Capitals on Sunday in Ahmedabad.

news

We are as safe as possible: Australian cricketer backs IPL’s continuation

The Indian Premier League carrying on amidst the thousands of deaths and lakhs of Covid-19 cases is causing problems in not only the host country but at many cricket-loving places including Australia. Players like Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa have pulled out of the tournament owing to travel restrictions placed at the moment. However, an unnamed Australian cricketer, currently playing in the IPL, though has favoured the continuation of the league as it gives hopes and positivity to the people. “When we signed up for the IPL, we all knew there was a global pandemic running,” the cricketer, on the accounts of anonymity was quoted as saying to Sydney Morning Herald. “We knew India was likely to get a second wave like everywhere else. Just because it’s happened and it’s on such a massive scale, this doesn’t change the commitment we made to people in India. I’m happy to stay,” he added. Countering the argument that cricketers moving out of the IPL should be placed on a higher pedestal, the Aussie said that they went out mainly because they didn’t find a place in the XI rather than the fact that they felt something extra for the people suffering from the pandemic. “We are as safe as we can possibly be. The guys who are leaving, you’ll see that most of them are not playing much cricket anyway,” he said. Three Australians including RCB’s Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson and Rajasthan Royals’ Andrew Tye moved out of the country and among them they had played just one game. Saying that ‘everyone who is here wants to be playing’, the anonymous IPL player reasoned, “It’s frustrating for those who are not. That also might be playing into their motivation for leaving.”

news

Kane Williamson to lead SRH for remainder of IPL 2021

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will be taking over the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captaincy for the remainder of the IPL 2021. The franchise released an official statement about the same that said, “Sunrisers Hyderabad would like to announce that Kane Williamson will be taking over the captaincy for tomorrow’s match and for the remainder of the IPL 2021.” SRH have had a dismal run so far in the competition having lost five out of the six matches that they have played and are placed at the bottom of the table. The Chennai game proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the prolific SRH captain who scored a woeful 57 runs off 55 balls, an innings that halted SRH's momentum in the game. Williamson who led New Zealand to the World Cup 2019 final has played 56 IPL matches and has scored over 1700 runs at an average of 42.1 and a strike rate of over 134 during the course. The right-hander is in some brilliant form in this edition of the IPL. He has a half-century in the three matches that he has featured in for the SRH and is yet to get dismissed in the competition. On the other side, despite being among runs, Warner has been struggling to give any fruitful results with his captaincy. The Hyderabad-based franchise was thumped by CSK by 7 wickets in their last encounter after they failed to defend a target of 172 in Delhi. Warner though had led SRH to the title win in the 2016 edition where they defeated RCB in the final.

news

Won't say Yuzvendra Chahal's spot is under scanner: Simon Katich

RCB and India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been facing some issues with his form in the on-going IPL season. He didn’t really have an impressive outing against the Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad on Friday either as the right-arm leggie returned with figures of 1/34 in 4 overs. But head coach Simon Katich has cleared that Chahl’s spot in the side isn’t under scanner. “We won't say his spot is under the scanner. Obviously, their spinners bowled a much better length than we did. I guess how the wicket played, it got slower and slower and they assessed it well and bowled a very good length," Katich said. Katich further explained that despite having a disappointing start, Chahal made a comeback in the match against Punjab Kings while credited left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed for his bowling. Yuzi fought back well but got off to a slow start in that first over, it's never easy to play catch up when you have been hit in your first over. I thought Shahbaz (Ahmed) bowled well in trying to claw things back but in the end but 180 was too many on that wicket," he added. RCB failed to chase down a target of 180 runs in 20 overs after they were restricted to 145/8 to suffer a defeat by 34 runs. Punjab’s Harpreet Brar ripen through the RCB batting line up and scalped a three-for that included the dismissals of captain Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers. RCB will now play Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad on Monday.