Shoaib Malik is a right-handed batsman, right-arm offspin bowler, and former captain of the Pakistan side.

 

The boy from Sialkot made his debut against the West Indies in 1999 (ODI). He was selected in the team as a bowler (he is a offspinner whose bowling style has striking similarities to Saqlain Mushtaq). His bowling however is no longer as effective as when he started partly due to having to change his action, which was reported twice at the International level (October 2004 and November 2005) and due to his changing role in the side where his batting has overtaken his bowling.

 

He has batted in every position in ODIs which is an astonishing feat as he was very much a tailender when he first came on the International scene. This is testament to his versatility and dedication to the cause. He started to show his capabilities with the bat from 2002 onwards but a majority of those innings were played at 6 in the batting order. It was in the middle of 2004 when he transformed from a decent batsman to a very good one. The captain and coach at the time, Inzamam-ul-Haq and the late Bob Woolmer, made the decision to play Shoaib Malik at one-down. He excelled in this role and announced his batting credentials to the world. For the remainder of that year, he played 17 innings (15 innings at one-down and 2 innings at 4) and he averaged just under 50. The standout innings was his 143 against arch-rivals India in Colombo. He continued to play there until around 2006, where he briefly played as an opener and then moved back down the order.

 

His Test debut came in 2001 against Bangladesh but he didn’t get a run in the side. It was his ODI form which resulted in him being given an opportunity in the Test side as a batsman. He was given a chance against Sri Lanka in 2004 where he performed reasonably well down the order. He was moved up the order and asked to open against the West Indies in June 2005, he was given 6 games as an opener where he did a good job. The highlight was his superb 148* against Sri Lanka in Colombo which helped Pakistan draw the match. However, he has moved down the order since then.

 

After the disastrous 2007 World Cup for Pakistan, Shoaib Malik was announced as captain after the role had been rejected by Younis Khan. It was brave of him to accept a role that is one of the toughest in world sport but Malik has shown so far in his career that he is prepared to give things a go.

 

His captaincy came under an immense amount of criticism from ex-players, pundits and fans for being too stagnant. He was accused of being too laid-back and defensive. He had a mixed record as a captain, highlights were the performance in the inaugural World Twenty20 leading up to the final and beating arch-rivals India in the Kitply Cup Final in June 2008. The low points would be the performance in the Asia Cup 2008 and the record defeat at home to Sri Lanka in the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka which ultimately led to his dismissal as skipper.

 

He was facing similar challenges to maintain his spot in the side, with up and coming players such as Fawad Alam and Umar Akmal performing well. However, he was a fighter and you wouldnt put it past him to keep his spot in the squad for many years to come and possibly even come back to captain Pakistan once again.

 

Shoaib Malik was recalled into the side for the tour of Zimbabwe. He was also selected for the series against Sri Lanka in the UAE, but his performances were below par.

 

Malik was added to World Twenty20 squad but he failed to score anything big, although he played an anchor-role for Pakistan in many of the matches. Because of abysmal batting performances of Pakistan, Malik retained his spot in the middle order and was included in the squad to tour India. Malik played some useful knocks in India including a 50 in Bangalore. Malik also batted well in the ODIs to anchor the innings and an unbeaten 34* to bring Pakistan home in one match. Shoaib Malik had a poor batting tour of South Africa, failing to cross 50 in 6 innings and was not used with the ball. Malik retained his spot in the team for Champions Trophy 2013, mostly due to his domestic form and the unstable batting line up of Pakistan. 

 

During Champions Trophy, Malik scored 0, 8, and 17 in 3 matches he played which forced the selectors to drop him for the subsequent ODI series. However, he was able to get picked for the T20I series against South Africa in UAE where he scored 12 and 15 from the 2 matches held at DSC. Despite of his continuous poor show, he was again on the plane to South Africa to feature in the T20I series there but due to an injury during 2nd T20I in Dubai, he could not take part in South Africa and returned home before the series commenced. 

 

Maliks has been a regular in different leagues around the world where he plays Big Bash in Australia, CPL in the West Indies and for Sialkot Stallions in Pakistan. He also recently led the Stallions to yet another t20 domestic title. He himself scored and picked up wickets at a good rate.