Shoaib Malik's debut in International Cricket
Here, we will take a look at Pakistani all rounder, Shoaib Malik’s debut in international cricket. Born in Sialkot, Punjab, the former Pakistani captain is known for the elegant aggressiveness that he displays with his bat, also providing his team with stability in the middle order with some classy defensive shots. He is also a useful bowler with his effective doosra coming under immense scrutiny, after which he had an elbow surgery and made his elbow action legal.
Starting his craze of the sport by playing with a tape-ball on the streets, Shoaib Malik’s passion was looked down upon by his mother during this time. But he never considered this a hindrance, as he started attending Imran Khan’s coaching clinics in 1993/94 in his home town. Soon, he was selected for the Pakistan U-15 team in the World Cup as a bowler. He enjoyed a briliant stint here and was picked for a series against the England U-19s, which included the likes of Ben Hollioake and Andrew Flintoff. He continued his prolificacy with the ball as he picked up seven wickets against them in a Test in Faisalabad.
He impressed in the domestic level as well, picking up five wickets in the first innings of his debut for Gujranwala in 1996. It was through this performance that he got recommended for playing for PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) where he immediately impressed Moin Khan and Wasim Akram, playing as a stand-in for the injured Saqlain Mushtaq against Allied Bank in the Willis Cup. He gave an impressive performance in this match, thus becoming the highest wicket taker in the series and subsequently, he was called up to the squad for the Coca Cola Champions Trophy in Sharjah in 1999.
In the second ODI of this cup, he made his debut, with impressive bowling figures of 8-1-34-2 at a decent economy rate of 4.25. After that, there was no looking back for the off-spinner as he made his mark with the bat too, amassing 5490 runs in Tests and 1606 runs in ODIs. He continues his knack of consistent bowling with 141 wickets in ODIs and 21 wickets in Tests. He is also a livewire on the field as he took 75 catches in ODIs and 16 in Tests.