Misbah-ul-Haq Surprised At Shoaib Malik's Underwhelming Performance In PSL 2023
Shoaib Malik in action for Karachi Kings [Source: Twitter]
The only remaining player who began his international career in the late 90s is Shoaib Malik. Malik, who made his ODI debut in 1999 for Pakistan, is currently plying his skills in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 for the Karachi Kings franchise.
Malik, yet to retire from T20Is, has been lauded by former Pakistan captain and coach Misbah-ul-Haq for his consistency in the past few years. The 40-year-old recently played his 500th T20 match during his outing in the Bangladesh Premier League 2023.
Malik amassed 147 runs in the Jaffna Kings' title-winning campaign in the Sri Lanka Premier League 2022-23.
As per Cricket Pakistan, Haq believes that Malik's performance in the PSL 8 is surprising despite his good form lately.
Here's what Haq said
"Be it franchise cricket or the last time he played for Pakistan, Malik has performed during the last one and a half years. I am surprised to see that he has failed to cash his form in this PSL season,
"Although he has started playing according to modern-day cricket and can accelerate with a strike rate of 140-150, he hasn't performed much in this edition."
Haq further pointed out that luck has not been in Malik's favour this season, and that he has been asked to perform under high-pressure situations several times.
Malik has managed 200 runs from nine games for the Kings, who are out of title contention after losing seven out of their nine matches thus far. The Kings, led by Imad Wasim, will play their last group-stage match against Lahore Qalandars on Sunday.
 "Vishal Mehra")
