Veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik on Thursday shared that he has lost interest in playing international cricket for Pakistan again.
Malik, who is already retired from two formats, during an interview with a local sports outlet, hinted that his days in international cricket are over.
“No, I am happy and satisfied after playing for so many years. I have no interest in playing for Pakistan again,” Malik stated.
“I have already announced retirement from two formats. I have been playing league cricket, and enjoying my time, wherever I get an opportunity to play, I try to avail it.”
Upon being asked about his retirement from T20 international cricket, the former captain stated that he would hang his boots from all forms of cricket altogether.
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“I have no interest but as I said in my previous interviews I will announce my retirement from all forms of cricket once and for all,” he said.
He also suggested that Pakistan’s white-ball captain, Babar Azam, should step down from captaincy and focus solely on his batting. Shoaib Malik believes that the star batter can perform better without the burden of captaincy on his shoulders.
“As for his captaincy, my firm stance is that he [Babar Azam] should play only as a player. That’s my opinion. When he plays as a player, he can do wonders for the team. He should stay away from leadership,” he added.
Shoaib Malik has represented Pakistan in 35 Tests, 287 ODIs and 124 T20Is since making his international debut back in 1999. He has scored over 11000 runs across three formats and has taken a total of 218 wickets.
In league cricket, he is the second-highest run-scorer with 13360 runs, only behind West Indies legend Chris Gayle, who scored 14562 runs.
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