ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Sania Mirza hails husband Shoaib Malik's commitment ahead of 250th ODI

When Pakistan took on Sri Lanka in a must-win encounter at Cardiff on Monday, Shoaib Malik completed a personal milestone, playing his 250th One Day International, thereby becoming only the 12th Pakistani to do so. The person most excited about the milestone was Malik’s wife, tennis ace Sania Mirza. [caption id=“attachment_3546769” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza. PTI[/caption] In a short video, uploaded on Pakistan cricket team’s official Facebook page, Sania told viewers that Malik’s 250th ODI appearance is the testimony to his commitment to the team and his passion for the game. “It shows his commitment to Pakistan and to cricket. I have always known him as someone with passion who loves playing and representing his country. It’s a proud moment for all of us, for his mother, for his brother and sisters and for myself too. We are very proud of him and everything he has achieved,” she said. Being a professional tennis player, Sania was asked how she manages to spend some personal time with her cricketer husband. To this, the tennis ace said, “(A) Lot goes into coordinating, phones really help us. We spend a lot of time apart, obviously, being two professional athletes. I got lucky because in Australia, the Pakistan team was there when I was there. Sometimes our schedules match and I had this week off, instead of going back to India or Dubai, I came here. So (is’s a) good change for me to watch some cricket as well.” On being asked whether she has been able to follow the Champions Trophy closely, Sania said that she has been unable to follow the matches closely as she was in Paris for the French Open. However, she added that she had watched Pakistan’s game versus South Africa, in which Malik’s team beat the Proteas by seven wickets. Malik, who made his debut in 1999, has scored 6742 runs, with 39 half-centuries and nine tons. He has also been a decent all-rounder, picking up 153 wickets and completing a double of 5,000 runs and 150 wickets. Malik is well-known for his performances versus arch-rivals India, against whom he has three centuries, including his top-score of 143 in Colombo. Watch the video here: