Shoaib Malik, a Pakistani all-rounder, was born on February 1, 1982 in Sialkot. Though he started off his career as an off spinner, he has now blossomed into a talented all-rounder and is ranked second, behind his team-mate Shahid Afridi, in the International Cricket Council (ICC) One Day International (ODI) all-rounder rankings. As a batsman, Shoaib Malik is a flexible player who is capable of hitting big shots and also rotating the strike with good placement. His strike rate of 77.23 runs per 100 balls has earned him comparisons to players like Rahul Dravid and Inzamam ul-Haq. He was made the captain of the Pakistani cricket team after the 2007 World Cup.
Shoaib Malik made his debut in international Test cricket on August 29, 2001 in a match against Bangladesh. At this level he has performed well against Sri Lanka and South Africa, which is proved by a better batting average against these two teams. Shoaib Malik has played 21 Tests and has made over a 1,000 runs, his best being a vital 148*, which came up in a match against Sri Lanka, which helped Pakistan save the match.
Shoaib Malik played his first One Day International (ODI) on October 14, 1999 against the West Indies team. In 2003, in a match against South Africa, he exhibited his power hitting skills by scoring 82 from 41 balls. With the ball, he has claimed 124 wickets, his best figures being 4/19. His age and consistent performances played a decisive role in him being chosen to succeed Inzamam ul-Haq as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team on April 19, 2007. Former Pakistani skipper Imran Khan credited him with a good cricket brain and said that he could turn out to be a very good choice for Pakistan cricket.
In his first series as captain, he led Pakistan to a 2-1 win in an ODI series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi. In the ODI series against India Shoaib Malik played a captain’s innings in the final match, making 89 runs and picking three wickets and helped his team win the series. He has set an unusual record in his ODI career by batting in every position save 11th.
In the domestic career, he made his First-class debut during the 1997-98 season, and in the same year he debuted in List A matches.
On August 28, 2006, Shoaib Malik played his first Twenty20 International (T20I) match against England in Bristol and has played twelve matches for the Pakistan team till date. Shoaib Malik was signed for US$ 500,000 by the Delhi Daredevils team to play at the Indian Premier League (IPL). He played a total of seven matches, making 52 runs at a strike rate of 110.63 and has also claimed two wickets.
