Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik is expected to rejoin the Pakistan team, in England on Thursday after serving a10 day break citing personal reasons. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday stated that Shoaib Malik will be taking a 10-day break.
“Shoaib Malik will rejoin the Pakistan cricket team in Southampton on Thursday and will be available for selection for the second One-Day International against England to be played on Saturday, 11 May,” the PCB said in a statement.
The former Pakistan skipper was granted a 10 day leave on 29th April. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board didn’t give any proper reason behind granting the leave to Shoaib Malik.
“The Pakistan cricket team management has given leave to Shoaib Malik so that he can return home to deal with a domestic issue. He is expected to rejoin the team in 10 days’ time,” PCB had said.
Shoaib Malik has been picked in the 15 member preliminary squad due to the sheer experience of playing so many matches for Pakistan. To be precise, Shoaib Malik played 282 ODI’s and 111 T20I’s. The ICC World Cup 2019 will be the final tournament of his career as he has already announced his retirement after the conclusion of the 2019 World Cup.
Pakistan is slated to play a 5 match ODI series against England on Wednesday at the Oval. It will be the final preparation series ahead of the 2019 World Cup. Pakistan has a very good team but their form of late has been pretty ordinary. Nonetheless, they have the ability to turn things around in the World Cup.
They will surely back themselves to put up an inspired performance in the World Cup and will be optimistic of lifting their 2nd World Cup title.