Shoaib Malik achieves rare feat, becomes first Pakistan cricketer to play 500 T20 matches

Malik last played for Pakistan in 2021. (PC: Twitter)

Veteran Pakistan Cricketer Shoaib Malik on Friday achieved the remarkable feat of playing 500 games in his T20 career.

Malik is currently playing his 500th T20 match in the 34th match of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League 2023 played between Dhaka Dominators vs Rangpur Riders.

Representing Rangpur Riders, Malik has lived up to the expectations of his BPL franchise. The right-handed experienced batter has set the marquee tournament on fire with his stunning exploits with the bat. So far he has played eight games for the Riders, smashing 231 runs at a decent strike rate of 134.30.

A T20 stalwart, Malik has been Pakistan's most prolific run-getter in the 20-over format. Not only this, Malik is the second-highest run scorer in the history of T20 cricket. He has over 12,000 runs in the format at an average of 32 and a strike rate of 125.2. West Indies legend Chris Gayle remains the all-time leading T20 run-scorer with over 14,000 runs with 22 hundreds and 88 half-centuries to show for his efforts.

Malik, who is out of favor of the national selectors, has gone on to play for multiple teams and franchises around the world.

One of the most valuable T20 cricketers, Malik has already retired from Tests and ODIs but hasn’t quit from T20Is. The veteran middle-order batter last featured for Pakistan in November 2021 against Bangladesh and hasn’t been picked since then.

At 41, Malik remains one of the fittest players in the world. His consistency with the bat and his desire to play should prompt a national recall.

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