The Pakistan veteran Shoaib Malik, a calm and cool character, is again in the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) squad for the 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The 37-year-old Malik does not just bring great leadership qualities to the squad, but his rich experience playing cricket in all parts of the world.
Having made his CPL debut in 2013 for the Barbados Tridents against the St Lucia Zouks, Malik announced himself at the “Biggest Party in Sport” with a player-of-the-match performance on CPL debut when he hit a brilliant 78 from 51 balls in his first ever CPL match. He has since played five seasons for the Tridents, but he played his first season for the GAW in 2018, when he played five matches before he was called upon for overseas duties with Pakistan. When the Hero Caribbean Premier League commences on September 4, Malik will be playing the entire season for the GAW.
The Pakistani made his One Day International (ODI) debut in 1999 against West Indies, and picked up two wickets on debut with his off-spin. The seasoned campaigner has since played 287 ODI matches and has scored over 7000 runs an average above 30, with 44 half-centuries and nine centuries to his name.
A three-dimensional player, Malik has a Test double century in his 35 Test matches, and has 158 ODI wickets under his belt. In the shorter format, at the International stage, Malik is among the great T20I batsmen, with 2263 runs to his credit.
Only three batsmen have scored more runs than Malik: India’s Rohit Sharma, who has the most runs in T20 International cricket (2422); India’s Virat Kohli, who has scored 2369; and New Zealand’s Martin Guptill, who has scored 2272 runs. Malik is fourth on the all-time list.
With the exception of playing all the years in CPL, Malik has played the Indian Premier League, the Big Bash and the Pakistan Super League. He has a total of 345 matches in global T20 matches (Domestic) and 8701 runs which include 51 half-centuries, with a high score of 95 not out in the shortest format.
The right-handed batsman offers more to the game with his controlled off-spin. He has 136 wickets, with two five-wicket hauls at an average of 26.57. He has a best bowling figure of 5-13 at a strike rate of 22.7.
In the first edition of the CPL, Malik scored 272 runs in eight matches, followed by 406 runs in his prolific 2014 season wherein he had four half-centuries. He continued his consistency with 209 runs in the 2015 season, followed by 263 runs in 2016. In his 2017 and 2018 seasons, he played only five matches, scoring just over 100 runs.
Malik has shown his consistency in the past, and will bring his experience to the fore, as he is certainly a good purchase for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Hero Caribbean Premier League 2019 edition.
This fine right-handed batsman has been in fine form of late, scoring 213 runs in five innings at the Global T20 Canada. He was dismissed only once, when he produced a high score of 64 for Vancouver Knights.
