Shoaib Malik should get a proper farewell for his 22 years in international cricket, opines Mohammed Hafeez

Pakistan recently announced their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup and most of the players in the squad were also a part of their recent Asia Cup campaign. Fakhar Zaman was dropped from the team surprisingly. Also, veteran batter Shoaib Malik’s inclusion was also in the discussion by fans and many former cricketers. But he failed to make it to the 15-member squad in spite of Pakistan going through middle-order struggles. 

Malik then posted a cryptic tweet expressing his displeasure over not being included in the team announced for the showpiece event. 

"When will we come out from friendship, liking and disliking culture? Allah always helps the honest,” he had tweeted.

Former Pakistan cricketer has bashed selectors saying Shoaib Malik should have been included in the T20 World Cup squad and he should have been given a proper farewell for his contribution to Pakistan cricket. 

“I don’t even know whether he will get a proper farewell now which he should, given his 22 years of international cricket. Because as things stand after his recent tweet where he highlighted friendships, liking and disliking in the team many are unhappy with him,” Hafeez told the CricketPakistan channel.

“Don’t talk about that he cannot play cut or pull, don’t forget that he played cricket for 22 years so he didn’t play these shots? We need to understand; we need proper cricketers with whom we can make winning combination whether he is 40 or 20,” he said.

Pakistan will start their World Cup campaign with a match against India and the team will take some confidence from their recent Asia Cup win over its arch-rivals. Malik might have helped Pakistan solve their middle-order issues but now they will have to rely on a bit of an inexperienced line-up.