ISLAMABAD – Veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik is relishing the opportunityto play alongside former Pakistan captain and flamboyant all-rounder ShahidAfridi, during the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
While speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, Malik said Afridi still hasa lot to offer in the field and he is glad to have him in the MultanSultans squad.
“He was also a team mate recently in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)with Comilla Victorians and I have played alongside him in other teams inthe past too,” said Malik. “Afridi is still playing solid cricket and as aformer national team mate and captain of Multan, I’m happy for him to be inour team as he is one of the very few players out there who cansingle-handedly change the game with their bowling and or batting andsometimes even with their fielding.”
Malik believes that Sultans have assembled a good squad for the next seasonbut losing former Australia captain Steve Smith — due to injury — is amajor loss.
“We are a solid team yes and cover all the key roles with some ofPakistan’s and world cricket’s best, but I don’t want to say too much atthis time,” he said. “Losing Steve Smith is a huge loss and we have tofigure out how to tackle that loss. Hopefully, we will have more to talkabout this subject on March 17 after the PSL final happens.”
Speaking about the national team’s success in the shortest format of thegame, Malik said: “We have worked hard as a unit and we have every right tobe the world’s No 1 T20 team and we must enjoy and cherish this time witheverything we have as things in cricket don’t remain the same forever.”.