"Told Shoaib Malik To Take Retirement, I Knew...": Ex-Pakistan Captain

Before Pakistan's T20 World Cup was announced, fans and cricket pundits were expecting veteran Shoaib Malik would be named in the squad, but disappointment followed as he was not given a chance in the 15-member squad. Now, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has revealed that he told Shoaib Malik to take retirement as he knew he would not be given a chance in the World Cup squad, nor would he be respected.

Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, Hafeez said: "Malik gave his best to Pakistan for about 21-22 years and maintaining your fitness standards for that long is absolutely remarkable."

"When I took my retirement, I told Malik to take retirement as well because I knew that he will not be respected as it was also evident in my case. My understanding was that he wanted one last standing but cricket is cruel like this," he added.

After Pakistan lost the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, Malik had tweeted to highlight the friendships, liking and disliking in the Pakistan team.

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"Unfortunately, even when he had announced his retirement from ODI cricket, the farewell match was not given, realizing his services, the match should have been given. Our management has always been lacking when it comes to bidding them a farewell," he maintained.

"If he had participated in the World Cup, the team would have got a senior player, don't talk about that he cannot play cut or pull, don't forget that he played cricket for 22 years so he didn't play these shots?. We need to understand; we need proper cricketers with whom we can make winning combination whether he is 40 or 20," he concluded.