On This Day: February 1, 1982 - Shoaib Malik was born

[A-1]

There is almost no role in a cricket side that Shoaib Malik hasn't filled, so much so that over ten years into his career, nobody is sure what his precise and best role is.

In essence, he is a batting allrounder, though he started his career as an off-break bowler. Partly the problem is that he is capable, as a batsman, of fulfilling many roles with some competence. He has had success as an opener in Tests and ODIs; he has been game-changing as a limited-overs one down and dangerous as a lower-order slogger; often he has been a stodgy middle-order bulwark. In Twenty20s, he can be brutal anywhere.

It is thus difficult to recall a definitive Malik high; was it his maiden Test hundred as an opener against Sri Lanka in Colombo? A few hands that led to an ODI series win against India in 2005-06? A Champions Trophy hundred against India?

His basic game is tight, especially in the subcontinent. He isn't pretty, though there can be pleasantness in his high, stiff-elbowed drives and lofts. Square on both sides he is precise. Further, he runs well. With his flattish, very modern off-spin always useful for more than a few overs and a wicket here and there - less so after concerns over his action - and an athletic and languid presence in the field, Malik should be far greater a sum of his parts than he actually is.

He was for long earmarked as a potential captain - the late Bob Woolmer thought him the sharpest tack in Pakistan's set-up - but a stint with the captaincy was troubled, unimaginative and ended badly. It got even worse when the board banned him for a year in March 2010 as part of its unprecedented action on senior players after a disastrous tour of Australia.

Career Stat:

[Gotham Cronie]

Let's hope his 31st year brings back some form in the limited over formats!

[a_k]

its my birthday too

[LethalSami]

February 1st is also my kaghazi birthday

[pakiman740]

feb 1 is also my b day

[leatherface58]

He is still 31?

[imshally81]

why ?

[The Dark Corner]

Happy birthday. Another year of mediocrity and one year closer to retirement. Fingers crossed.

[RehanG]

feb 1 is also my b day

Happy b-day

@Topic happy b-day to the DON hope he scores few centuries this year

[DHONI183]

Happy Birthday to Shoaib Malik. God bless you. As for our member W63L35, don´t worry. He is like that father who scolds that one son of his all children who he wants to see get better in studies.

^The above analogy is straight out of our poster GentleMan´s book.^

its my birthday too

Happy Birthday sir!

[Abdullah719]

Thank you dosto for all the birthday wishes, here’s a bit of cake your way ����

— Shoaib Malik (@realshoaibmalik) January 31, 2018

[giri26]

Decent player. Happy birthday to him.

[MenInG]

Pakistan need him to step up!

Happy birthday

[Hasan123]

Happy birthday to him.

[babajee]

Pakistan need him to step up!

Happy birthday

Poor guy lacks the ability to step up.

[troodon]

So he is still 36?

Some never age I guess. Seeing this guy since my teens. I am well into 30's now and he is still 36

[Abdullah719]

Salgirah mubarik @realshoaibmalik bhai, meri taraf se yeh bike aap ka gift ������������ pic.twitter.com/gaomuX5mwe

— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) February 1, 2018

[Abdullah719]

37 today.

[rhony]

So, apparently he was just 15 years old when he played the Under 19 WC in 1998. He is just one month older than Hasan Raza. Remember, Hasan Raza, the child prodigy who had a world record for youngest debut.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_U...rld_Cup_squads

[aukhan]

Happy Birthday Mian Malik.

[Gabbar Singh]

A star was born.

[MenInG]

#OnThisDay 1982. Shoaib Malik was born in Sialkot:

Played international cricket over 4 decades ✅
Captained Pakistan ✅
World T20 winner ✅
Champions Trophy winner ✅
35 Tests ✅
287 ODIs ✅
113 T20Is ✅#Cricket pic.twitter.com/vCcxJNMt64

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) February 1, 2020

[shaz619]

Haha, greatest blessing ever for Pak cricket

[gazza619]

1982? You must be havin a laugh lol!

[sweep_shot]

He has had a really long ODI career. I remember his early games from early-00's. He used to open batting.

He is the last Pakistani player left from the 90's (he made debut in late-90's).

[sweep_shot]

This was Shoaib Malik's 1st ODI century:



Before this innings, he used to be a lower order batsman. After this innings, he started to bat at the top order and he eventually became all-rounder.

[moghul]

feb 1 is also my b day

Yours must be a real one.

[CricketDon]

Pakistan need him to step up!

Happy birthday

Haha he ain’t stepped up in the decades he’d played but sure at 40 he will

[CricketDon]

1982? You must be havin a laugh lol!

He was born in 1976 - 1978. He’s another age fudging player

[gazza619]

This was Shoaib Malik's 1st ODI century:



Before this innings, he used to be a lower order batsman. After this innings, he started to bat at the top order and he eventually became all-rounder.

Nice knock. If 250 was still a winning target in ODIs, Malik would have been a living legend. The problem was that he couldnt transform his game to the modern way. Still a decent T20 batsman who can score 30 off 25 balls and a good fielder.

[Mamoon]

The high point of his batting career was the 2004-2006 period when he used to bat at 3 in ODIs.

Scored a brilliant hundred vs India in the 2004 Asia Cup and scored a hundred and two 90s in the 2006 ODI series against India in Pakistan.

Unfortunately, the management decided to swap his position with Younis and he lost his form.

After becoming the captain, he should have promoted himself to number 3 again. Interestingly, his best knocks as captain came against India while opening (2008 Asia Cup) and while batting in the first 10 overs (2009 Champions Trophy).

[gazza619]

The high point of his batting career was the 2004-2006 period when he used to bat at 3 in ODIs.

Scored a brilliant hundred vs India in the 2004 Asia Cup and scored a hundred and two 90s in the 2006 ODI series against India in Pakistan.

Unfortunately, the management decided to swap his position with Younis and he lost his form.

After becoming the captain, he should have promoted himself to number 3 again. Interestingly, his best knocks as captain came against India while opening (2008 Asia Cup) and while batting in the first 10 overs (2009 Champions Trophy).

I wonder if it was the management who decided to swap his number or was it Malik himself? We all know Malik’s hate for batting against the new moving bouncing ball. I think Inzi used to use him high up the order to get a batsman who can bowl and this also extended the batting a bit.

Credit to Malik though for not making a fuss and batting at whatever number he was asked to bat.

[Mamoon]

I wonder if it was the management who decided to swap his number or was it Malik himself? We all know Malik’s hate for batting against the new moving bouncing ball. I think Inzi used to use him high up the order to get a batsman who can bowl and this also extended the batting a bit.

Credit to Malik though for not making a fuss and batting at whatever number he was asked to bat.

It was most probably Inzamam and Woolmer’s call.

Younis turned his Test career around in the 2005 tour of India and became a run machine at number 3. The management thought that he was being wasted at number 6 in ODIs and decided to play him at 3 in ODIs as well.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate his Test success and Malik also stagnated down the order.

[Markhor]

The Poster Boy of Mediocrity.

However he's "good around the dressing room". What a sorry excuse of a cricket nation we've become by allowing him and Hafeez to hang around well past their sell by dates as if they're this generation's Imran Khan and Javed Miandad.

[MenInG]

Happy birthday to Pakistan's Shoaib Malik ��

He was at his brilliant best against India in the Champions Trophy in 2009. pic.twitter.com/xZWChlI0Vr

— ICC (@ICC) February 1, 2021

[Saj]

1982. Cough, cough.

I reckon probably 1978 or 79.

[Saj]

Graeme Swann a few years ago "Shoaib Malik was 19 years old when I was 19, but I'm now 38 and he is 35 years old"

[Mamoon]

Shoaib probably had the most unique and tragic career among all Pakistani cricketers.

Played for 20+ years, batted at every single position, scored ODI hundreds against India, saved a Test match in Sri Lanka on a turning day 5 pitch against a rampant Muralitharan, scored a double-hundred against England,

captained in all formats, reached the inaugural WT20 final as captain, led successfully in domestic cricket for many years, one of the 2 Pakistani players to win 2 ICC trophies, has played with the generation of Wasim, Waqar, Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan as well as Babar, Shadab, Fakhar, Hassan, Faheem.

He is still an active cricketer even though he made his international debut only 3 years after Miandad retired, and Miandad’s playing days are now ancient history.

And yet in spite of all of that, he is someone who will not be remembered by Pakistani cricket fans when he finally walks away from the game.

There will never anyone like Malik again. At least not in terms of how his career journey panned out.