Shoaib Malik said he will play for Pakistan only if Babar Azam wants him to be there.
Veteran Pakistan all-rounder, Shoaib Malik, claimed that he had already conveyed to Babar Azam that he wants to play in selected matches and series if the skipper wants him to be there. However, despite this, he hasn't been considered for national selection since the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE.
He further expressed his disappointment over being left out of the Pakistan squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, as Babar had affirmed to him that he could play.
Speaking in an interview with Cricket Pakistan on YouTube, Shoaib Malik said: “He (Babar) asked me if I want to continue playing or take retirement during the last world cup, to which I said that I don’t want to play anymore due to the recent turn of events.”
He continued, “However, I told Babar that if he wants me to play, then I will play. I have always been available for Pakistan and I still am. I then asked Babar to tell me if I should take part in selected series or selected matches and communicate the same to me. He then told me ‘Ok you can play and I’ll tell you accordingly’.”
Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup:
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir.
Standby Players: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.