T20 World Cup 2021: "Good to be the underdogs" - Shoaib Malik wants to relive Pakistan's 2009 title-winning memories
While not many had Pakistan down as favorites to win the 2021 T20 World Cup, few would now not have them as major contenders for the trophy.
Pakistan got off to a blistering start in the tournament with wins over India and New Zealand -- on paper, their toughest opponents in their group.
Veteran batter Shoaib Malik, who is one of just two Pakistani cricketers in the current team who played in the inaugural World T20 in 2007, was a key part of their side that won the event in 2009.
Speaking about their title triumph, Malik told the International Cricket Council (ICC) in an interview:
"If I take myself back into 2009, we were struggling in the beginning of the tournament. But as we went deep in the tournament, we picked up momentum, the guys who picked up good form – Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, to some extent myself, we started performing consistently."
Malik said that the memories of winning the trophy in 2009 were great and that he would like to feel that way again with the current team.
"Great memories and I guess before I end my career, I would like to go through the same memories, so let’s hope for the best.
"When nobody is considering that you can win an event and you pick up the momentum and you see your players are in good form and consistently performing, in my opinion, I take it as a challenge, and I have seen that in our dressing room as well, that we take as a challenge if nobody is saying that Pakistan could win the mega event.
"It’s good to be the underdogs, there is no pressure on you and you can just go and give your best," Malik said.
Pakistan star Shoaib Malik reflects on the evolution of T20 cricket
Shoaib Malik is among a handful of players who were part of the 2007 T20 World Cup and are playing the ongoing edition as well.
Apart from him and Pakistan teammate Mohammad Hafeez, the other players who were there in the 2007 edition were Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle and Shakib Al Hasan.
2007 ⏩ 2021
@realshoaibmalik was there when all the fuss began in 2007.
The #Pakistan all-rounder is part of an exclusive club at the #T20WorldCup
t20worldcup.com/video/2312882
Malik has been playing international cricket since 1999 and has seen how the game has evolved. This is especially true for the T20 format, which started well into his playing days and has come a long way since.
Speaking about how the game has changed, the 39-year-old said:
"Early days, obviously it was a new format. Internationally, 2007 was the first mega event that happened, in South Africa. At first, everybody was just thinking about the Powerplay, the first six overs. How to utilise them as a batting unit, as a bowling unit.
"But now the things have changed. You have to gain momentum from ball one, and then try to finish it till the 20th over. And the game is never over. Even if you lose a couple of early wickets, two batsmen can still win the match."
Having had the perfect start to the tournament, Pakistan will face Afghanistan later today in their third match.