The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia has been announced, however; they left out the former captain Shoaib Malik.
The 40-year-old batsman’s exclusion came as a surprise as many expected him to be in the squad due to Pakistan’s middle-order woes. He was part of the Men in Green squad in the last World Cup.
Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haider Ali, and Shan Masood failed to score consistently in the middle order as Pakistan lost the Asia Cup final to Sri Lanka and lost the seven-match T20I series against England at home.
After Pakistan’s defeat in the Asia Cup, Shoaib Malik tweeted that the team was selected based on friendship in the team. Malik opened up about his exclusion and relationship with Babar Azam.
He said that he is not against anyone in the national team and thinks very positively about it.
Speaking to Samaa TV on his World Cup snub, Malik stated that the team management was entirely responsible for his selection, and he would not want to blame anyone for his exclusion.
“Dekhiye mera kaam hain cricket khelna jaha pe bhi mujhe opportunity mile. Select karna, na karna woh team management, selection committee ya PCB ka hain.
Mera hain ki jaha opportunity mile main woh avail karne ki koshish karu and acha perform karne ki koshish karu. Mujhe kisise koi problem nehi hain. Main kisike koi against nehi hu kyumki positive rehna has been a major reason behind the success in my career,” he said.
Malik stated that due to the responsibilities of the captaincy, Babar needed to be given some space and he never pressured the captain or tried to persuade him to be selected.
“Humlog consistent basis pe baat karte hain. Haa, pehle bohot zyada tha, lekin jab koi captain ban jata hain toh unko woh space dena chahiye. Main khud iss cheez se ghuzra hu. Isiliye maine aajtak koi pressure nehi dala na kabhi dalunga na kabhi convince karne ki koshish karunga,” he added.
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