"No interest in playing for Pakistan" Shoaib Malik unofficially retires from international cricket

Shoaib Malik last played for Pakistan in a T20I match against Bangladesh in 2021.

Veteran Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik all but confirmed his international retirement after stating that he is not interested in playing for the national side anymore.

The 42-year-old made his international debut for Pakistan in an ODI match against the West Indies at Sharjah in October 1999. Malik made his test debut against Bangladesh at Multan in August 2001.

In August 2006, the Pakistan all-rounder made his T20I debut against England at Bristol. Since then, Malik has played 35 tests, 287 ODIs and 124 T20Is till now.

The right-handed batter made 1898 runs at an average of 35.14 in tests. In ODIs, Malik scored 7534 runs at 34.55 and 2435 runs at 31.21 in T20Is.

I have no interest in being part of Pakistan’s T20I team: Shoaib Malik

The 42-year-old Malik called time on his test career in 2015 in order to focus on white-ball cricket and retired from ODIs following the ICC ODI World Cup 2019. Malik last featured for Pakistan in a T20I match in 2021.

Recently, Malik opened up about his future in international cricket. The senior cricketer confirmed that he isn’t looking to return to Pakistan’s T20I team but will continue to play domestic cricket and other leagues.

“I currently play just one format, and I will surely play in the domestic T20 competition. I think I can still play at the domestic level. That way, I can share my experience in a better way with the players,” Shoaib Malik told reporters, as quoted by Hindustan Times.

“I have already said that I am not interested in playing for Pakistan. I have already retired from Tests and ODIs. I have no interest in being part of Pakistan’s T20I team. Yes, I will continue playing at the domestic level. There are a few places where I still go and play, but I have already communicated to some leagues that I won’t be available. Regarding my retirement, I will leave it all at once,” the all-rounder added.

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