Shoaib Malik Biography
Full name Shoaib Malik
Born February 1, 1982, Sialkot, Punjab
Major
teams Pakistan,
Asia XI, Delhi Daredevils, Gloucestershire, Gujranwala Cricket Association,
Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Reserves, Sialkot Cricket
Association, Sialkot Stallions
Batting
style Right-hand
bat
Bowling
style Right-arm
offbreak
Shoaib
Malik is a Pakistani cricket player and former captain. He made his One-Day
International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001
against Bangladesh. He has taken over 100 ODI wickets, and has a batting
average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket. His bowling action has
come under scrutiny (particularly his doosra) but he has had elbow surgery to
correct this. Malik was ranked second, behind teammate Shahid Afridi, in the
ICC ODI all-rounder rankings in June 2008. In March 2010, Malik received a
one-year ban from international cricket from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB);
the ban was overturned two months later.
Personal life
In
2008, media reports in Pakistan surfaced that Malik has married Ayesha
Siddiqui, a woman from Hyderabad, India, on 3 June 2002. Malik denied these
allegations saying his marriage plans with the woman did not go through,
because of a lack of consensus between both the families. In April 2010,
Siddiqui’s family released Shoaib-Ayesha ‘marriage’ certificate (Nikahnama). On
April 2, 2010, Malik said he plans to sue Siddiqui’s family for “indulging in
character assassination”. On April 7, 2010 Malik confirmed his marriage with
Siddiqui and signed the Talaq (divorce) papers.
On
12 April 2010, Malik married Indian tennis player Sania
Mirza in an Islamic
wedding ceremony at the Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad, India for a mahr of
INR61 lakh (US$137,500).
Career
Shoaib
Malik first played tape-ball cricket in the streets as a child. He began to
take playing cricket seriously in 1993/94 when he attended Imran Khan’s
coaching clinics in Sialkot. He began as a batsman only developing on his
bowling later. He used to get in trouble with his family for playing cricket,
as they wanted him to focus on his education. In 1996, Malik attended trials
for the U-15 World Cup. He was selected in the squad for his bowling.
In
May 2001, Malik’s bowling action was inspected. The PCB group of bowling
advisers concluded that his stock off-spinner was legal, although his delivery
going the other way was not. He was encouraged to concentrate on his off-spin
and to practice bowling his other delivery without bending his arm. In a One
Day International (ODI) against England in June 2001, Malik suffered a
fractured right shoulder after falling awkwardly while attempting to take a
catch.
Malik
was approached by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in July 2003 to act as a
replacement for Ian Harvey, who was on international duty with Australia. John
Bracewell, the club’s director of cricket, commented that he was “excited by
the prospect of signing an international spinning all-rounder to replace Ian
during the Cheltenham Festival and the C&G semi-finals. He will add a new
and refreshing dimension to the squad … which is in keeping with our playing
philosophy to both win and entertain”. He sufficiently impressed in two County
Championship and three one-day matches that resulted in renewing of his
contract for the 2004 season. Mark Alleyne, the club’s head coach, remarked
that “Shoaib did very well for us last year in the short time he was with us
and fitted in very well. He is a gifted all-rounder who is worthy of a place in
either discipline and as a 21 year old, he can only get better and I am really
pleased at having him in my squad”. Over the course of his two seasons at
Gloucestershire, Malik played eight first-class matches, scoring 214 runs at an
average of 17.83 with two fifties and taking 15 wickets at an average of 45.06,
with best bowling figures of 3/76. He also played twelve one-day matches,
scoring 345 runs at an average of 43.12 with three fifties and taking 10
wickets at an average of 47.60, with best bowling figures of 3/28.
In
October 2004, Malik was reported to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for
having a “potentially flawed bowling action”; eight months later, his action
was cleared. In the intervening period, Malik was used mainly as a batsman. He
was also given a one-Test ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board after admitting to
deliberately losing a Twenty20 match for the Sialkot Stallions against Karachi
Zebras to knock Lahore Eagles out of the Faysal Bank T20 Cup. The inquiry
concluded that the incident “damaged Pakistan’s cricketing image and had shown
disrespect to the crowd”, but that “his actions were not part of any
match-fixing with no financial implications, but were an immature attempt to
express his disappointment at earlier decisions in the competition that he felt
went against his side”.
During
his Test career, Malik has batted at 5 different positions and has the unusual
record of batting at every position except 11th in ODIs. Pakistan’s problems in
finding a reliable opening pair have led to Malik being used as an opener in
Test and ODI matches. In Test cricket, he made a big impression with his
match-saving innings against Sri Lanka in 2006, during which he batted for the
whole day and finished with 148 runs not out. His bowling has been effective at
times, especially in one-day cricket where his best bowling figures are four
wickets for 19 runs (4/19) in addition to many 3-wicket hauls.
On
the international stage Malik struggled in England. In 12 ODIs across four
tours between 2001 and 2006 he scored 98 runs at an average of 8.16, with just
two scores above 20, far below his career ODI average of 34.35. Of people who
have played at least eight ODIs in England, Malik’s is the furthest below his
overall average.
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