Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik (born 1 February 1982) is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team and currently plays for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

He began playing cricket seriously in 1994 when he attended one of Imran Khan's travelling coaching clinics in Sialkot at the age of 12.

He began as a batsman, and developed his bowling later.

He used to get in trouble with his family for playing cricket, as they wanted him to focus on his education.

In 1996, Malik attended trials for the U-15 World Cup.

He was selected in the squad for his bowling.

He made his One-Day International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh.

In May 2001, Malik's bowling action was inspected.

The PCB group of bowling advisers concluded that his stock off-spinner was legal, although his delivery going the other way was not.

He was encouraged to concentrate on his off-spin and to practice bowling his other delivery without bending his arm.

In a One Day International (ODI) match against England in June 2001, Malik suffered a fractured right shoulder after falling awkwardly while attempting to take a catch.

Malik was approached by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in July 2003 to act as a replacement for Ian Harvey, who was on international duty with Australia.

His father Malik Faqueer Hussain, a modest shopkeeper who sold local footwear and supported his son's passion for cricket, died of throat cancer in 2006.

He was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team from 2007 to 2009.

Malik was ranked second, behind teammate Shahid Afridi, in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings in June 2008.

Malik was a member of the Pakistan team that won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20.

He has taken over 150 ODI wickets and has a batting average in the mid-30s in both Test and ODI cricket.

His bowling action has come under scrutiny (particularly his doosra), but he has had elbow surgery to correct that.

He made 126 runs against India in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.

In March 2010, Malik received a one-year ban from international cricket from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB); the ban was overturned two months later.

Malik was married in 2002 to Ayesha Siddiqui which ended in divorce on 7 April 2010.

On 12 April 2010 he married Indian tennis player Sania Mirza in a traditional Hyderabadi Muslim wedding ceremony at the Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad, India, followed by Pakistani wedding customs.

Their Walima ceremony was held in Shoaib's native Sialkot, Pakistan.

Their wedding received media and online attention across the world.

On 3 November 2015, Malik announced his retirement from Test cricket to focus on the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Malik was captain of the now defunct Sialkot Stallions and led them to a domestic record eight domestic T20 titles, with the last one coming in 2015.

On 13 September 2017, Malik became the highest run–scorer in T20I for Pakistan.

On 2 July 2018, he became the first male cricketer to play 100 T20Is.

In April 2018, he was named as the captain of Punjab's squad for the 2018 Pakistan Cup.

On 1 July 2018, Malik also became the first Asian batsman to score 2,000 runs in T20Is, the third overall, and first player to play 100 T20Is in the world.

In August 2018, during the 2018 Caribbean Premier League tournament, he became the fourth batsman to score 8,000 runs in T20s.

The couple announced their pregnancy via social media on 23 April 2018.

Their first child, a boy, was born on 30 October 2018.

On 19 January 2024, Shoaib married Pakistani TV actress Sana Javed in a private Nikah ceremony at her home in Karachi, after his ex-wife Sania opted for a 'khula' with him.

His brother Adeel Malik and nephew Mohammad Huraira are also cricketers.

He first played tape ball cricket in the streets as a child.

On 5 July 2019, he announced his retirement from One Day International Cricket after Pakistan won their last group stage game against Bangladesh at Lord's at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

On 10 October 2020, in the 2020–21 National T20 Cup, Shoaib Malik became the first Pakistani batsman to score 10,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket, doing so in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's match against Balochistan.

In February 2023, while playing for the Rangpur Riders in the 2022–23 Bangladesh Premier League, he became the third cricketer (after Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo from the West Indies) and the first Pakistani to play 500 T20 matches.

Malik was born into a middle-class Punjabi Muslim Rajput family in Sialkot, Punjab.