The three-match T20I series is scheduled to begin from the 17th of December.
Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has on Wednesday (December 2) reacted to his omission from the team for the New Zealand tour, saying he has “no idea” why he was left out of the team.
Malik, the former Pakistan captain – who is currently playing in the Lanka Premier League in Sri Lanka, also claimed there was “no communication” from the national selection committee regarding his exclusion from the Pakistan squad for the New Zealand tour.
Last month, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced a combined squad for the tour of New Zealand and Malik was missing from the jumbo 35-member group for the T20I series.
Malik told PTI during a virtual interaction: “If I am not part of the national team, only the chief selector can answer this I have no idea. There wasn’t any communication from them but of course, I don’t want to go into the (dwell on) negative side and just stay positive.”
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The veteran cricketer is currently playing for Jaffna Stallions in the LPL and insisted that he is focusing on making most of the opportunities he has in hand presently.
He further noted, “I have a great opportunity in my hands that is the Lanka Premier League and my total focus is on the league and I don’t want to focus on where I’m not present. I have played enough cricket and I feel whatever you have in your hand you should focus on that.”
Malik, who has featured in 35 Test, 287 ODIs, and 116 T20Is for Pakistan, said “there are no intentions of retiring from T20I format so far but let’s see how it goes” having retired from both ODI and Test cricket.
On the LPL, the all-rounder said: “The quality of cricket in Lanka Premier League is very good. From next year I am sure there will be more big names. These are tough times and we are using only one stadium. From next year, when we all come out of this pandemic LPL will have more venues and crowds. The crowd makes things bigger. But in these tough times, the way LPL has been organized is remarkable.”
Malik signed off by saying, “We have seen whoever started their own league, the cricket improved. It will happen in Sri Lanka too. A lot of players will come up but having said that in this format you don’t select the players for Test cricket but this league will give you T20 players. They must be provided with consistent opportunities.”
(With PTI Inputs)