Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik speaking exclusively with PakPassion.net spoke of his delight at the Sialkot Stallions performances in the ongoing Faysal Bank Super 8s Twenty20 Cup and also spoke of his determination to reclaim a place in the international team.

By Saj Sadiq (30th March, 2012)

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik speaking exclusively with PakPassion.net spoke of his delight at the Sialkot Stallions performances in the ongoing Faysal Bank Super 8s Twenty20 Cup and also spoke of his determination to reclaim a place in the international team.

Sialkot are unbeaten in the Faysal Bank Super 8s after the group stage and the reigning champions are amongst the favourites to lift the title in Rawalpindi. They will face Peshawar in the semi finals on Saturday. Malik though was cautious with regard to his team’s chances and respectful of the opposition.

“I’m very pleased with the way the Sialkot team is playing at the moment. In tournaments such as the Super 8s there is no margin for error and you make one mistake and you can be out of the tournament. You have to go into every match with a must win mentality. We have won our group matches but there are two very big matches to come yet.”

“Our philosophy is very simple, we concentrate on one match at a time and specifically plan for our next opponents and leave nothing to chance. I just tell the boys to give 100% effort and they will be rewarded for their efforts. Winning and losing is part and parcel of sport, but the most important thing is that you can look back and say that you gave your all.”

30 year old Malik has performed well in front of the selection committee and the new Head Coach Dav Whatmore at Rawalpindi during the Super 8s and took 1 for 12 and scored 19 in the Stallions opening match against Lahore Eagles. He then bowled an excellent spell of 5 for 29 against the Karachi Dolphins during Sialkot’s 9 wicket victory. In Sialkot’s third match against Rawalpindi Rams Malik bowled 2 overs and took 1 wicket for 8 runs and scored 20 runs.

Malik also added that he felt it was important for him as captain of the Sialkot Stallions to ensure that his performances were the benchmark for his colleagues and stated “As captain of any cricket team, you have to accept responsibility and lead from the front. That is precisely what I have tried to do in the ongoing tournament. If as skipper I perform well, then I know that my team mates will follow suit and automatically play good cricket also. The key is that the captain has to lead from the front and that’s what I always try to do.”

Malik also praised two young batsmen from the Sialkot squad and stated that he felt both had very bright futures. “Haris (Sohail) has been performing very well in first class cricket and he hasn’t played much twenty over cricket, but in the match against Karachi Dolphins he batted very sensibly alongside Imran Nazir and did the right things at the crease. He batted to the end of the match and I was very impressed with Haris.”

Another youngster who Malik feels has all the right ingredients for a bright future is middle order batsman Ali Khan and he added “He is a great talent and I expect a lot from him in future. He has only batted in the opening match against Lahore Eagles in the Super 8s but he looks very impressive. Both Haris and Ali are two very talented cricketers and I think they have a very bright future ahead of them. They need to continue to apply themselves, continue to learn and continue to work hard. If they work hard in future I am sure they will do very well.”

Malik also had praise for his PIA team mate Zia ul Haq, the tall, left arm teenage pace bowler who took 5 wickets on his Super 8s debut for the Lahore Lions. Malik has seen Zia this season at close quarters and stated "Zia looks a very good prospect. He is raw and has a lot to learn. He is developing as a cricketer and I think with guidance and hard work he can become a very good bowler."

Malik went into the Super 8s tournament on the back of some excellent form in the National One Day Cup 50 over tournament for PIA where he scored 353 runs at an average of 58.83 and he also took 14 wickets at only 21.28 apiece in 7 matches. He led PIA to the One Day Cup title after defeating Habib Bank in the final by 36 runs in Lahore and feels that the return to form in domestic cricket was a welcome development from his perspective.

“Playing professional cricket is a huge opportunity. I have been lucky enough to have been given this opportunity that many crave. My aim has always been to do my best for whichever team I am playing for, whether it is a domestic team, a club team or for my country. It’s my responsibility to do well and I really wanted to perform well for PIA in the National One Day Cup as it was a good opportunity to regain some form and confidence, and now it’s down to the selectors as to whether they want to recall me or not. I’ve gone back to domestic cricket and I feel I have done what was needed and in my view, the form and confidence are back.”

Malik though felt that he did not have a significant point to prove, rather it was a case of ensuring that he stuck to basics and playing what he termed orthodox cricket in the National One Day Cup.

“My plan was to stick to my basics and concentrate on playing some orthodox cricket. I’m pleased that I played some good cricket in the 50 over tournament and the Super 8s is going well. Of course when you do well, you hope and your expectations increase. So like anyone in my position who has gone back to domestic cricket and done well I’m praying and hoping that the selectors have taken note and I hope that I get another chance in international cricket.”

Malik struggled in series against England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe but he feels that there is no point in looking back at that poor run of form, rather he should be focussing on getting back into the national side and looking to perform well in future.

“In professional sport, you have good days and you have bad days. I’ve gone through a lean spell of late but I remain positive and I have faith in my ability and I believe in myself. It hurts me to see that I have not performed so well of late, but you have to learn from your mistakes. Sometimes you learn more from the bad times, than you do when you are doing well and everything is going for you. Nobody is perfect, no sportsman is perfect and you are continually learning. Even if you have scored 20,000 runs, even if you are Sachin Tendulkar you are still learning about the game of cricket and I am no different, it’s a continuous learning process.”

“I feel I have learnt a lot from this lean international spell. If you are perfect then you will score a century or a double century in every game, but that does not happen. The lean period is history now, let’s look ahead rather than back. I’ve had some bad tours recently but that is behind me and I have come back and done well in domestic cricket. I feel that I can play international cricket for another 6 to 8 years.”

Malik was overlooked for the recently concluded Asia Cup that saw Pakistan defeat Bangladesh in a nail biting final and he stated that whilst it was disappointing to miss the Asia Cup he felt that the time away from international cricket had been utilised fully.

“Yes it was disappointing to miss the Asia Cup as we all want to play every match for one’s country, but that is not always possible of course. I played for PIA while the Asia Cup was in progress and I feel I made the most of my time away from the Pakistan team with some consistent performances for PIA. It was pleasing to see Pakistan win the Asia Cup for the second time and I was very happy for the boys.”

As the Pakistan Cricket Board awaits a response from their Bangladeshi counterparts regarding their participation in a possible tour of Pakistan, which will be the first by a country since the Sri Lankan tour of 2009, Malik stressed the importance of international cricket returning to Pakistan in the near future.

“Pakistan is a great nation, we want international cricket back in our homeland and the Pakistan Cricket Board is working very hard to get teams to tour Pakistan. The Board and the players are trying to convince people to come and play cricket in Pakistan and I’m hoping that very soon we will see the resumption of international cricket in Pakistan. We are all missing international cricket in Pakistan, the players and the fans and everyone is praying that we see the return of international cricket in Pakistan very soon.”

Pakistani cricketers are a rarity on twitter and recently one of them, fast bowler Wahab Riaz was the target of abuse after the defeat to India. The abuse resulted in Wahab deleting his account from Twitter and Malik who still has an account on Twitter felt that the abuse Wahab received was unnecessary. “Everyone has respect, everyone deserves respect. All cricketers want to do well wherever they are playing and whenever they are playing, but you can’t perform well every day. If someone doesn’t perform that does not mean that you start to abuse them. It’s sport, some days you will do well, others you won’t do so well, but there has to be respect” added Malik.