Former skipper Shoaib Malik has made a backdoor entry into Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad after being named an injury replacement for middle-order batter Sohaib Maqsood.
An MRI scan on Maqsood’s lower back revealed that the right-hander is carrying a back injury, which was picked up playing the National T20 Cup earlier this week for Southern Punjab and that has handed Malik an unexpected comeback to the T20I squad.
Already retired from Tests and ODIs, Malik last featured in a T20I for Pakistan back in September 2020 against England. The batter had been sidelined for over a year as the selectors focused on young talent with the aim to give them ample opportunities ahead of the next major ICC event.
But typically, Pakistan have thrown in a last-minute surprise by recalling the ex-captain, who now also becomes his country’s most capped player in ICC events.
Making his international debut back in October 1999, Malik has now featured in two ODI World Cups, six editions of the Champions Trophy and all of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaigns barring the 2010 one.
Interestingly, Malik’s comeback has taken place at a time when the 39-year-old’s returns have been on the wane. He coped well in T20 leagues last year but made just 67 runs from his 11 innings of the CPL 2021 for Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Unlike Malik, Maqsood’s returns with the bat had been on the up. He had batted well on comeback trips to England and West Indies, making useful end-overs runs at a strike-rate of 157.57. He also struck 428 runs with an average of 47.55 and strike-rate of 156.77 in Multan Sultans’ successful run to the PSL 2021 title this year.
When Maqsood was finally showing signs of becoming the player that Pakistan cricket had seen in him five years back, it must be really saddening for him to miss out on a T20 World Cup with a back injury.
Pakistan will open up their campaign with a Super 12 clash against arch-rivals India on October 24 in Dubai. The team will be departing for UAE on October 15 and then play two warm-up games – versus West Indies (October 18) and South Africa (October 20) – before their first tournament proper game.
