ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Shoaib Malik announces retirement from ODIs, will continue to play in T20Is for Pakistan

London: Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik confirmed his retirement from one-day cricket without making a farewell appearance in his side’s victory over Bangladesh on Friday. Malik had admitted last year that he intended to quit one-day cricket after the World Cup and he followed through with that plan after Pakistan’s 94-run win at Lord’s. The 37-year-old will continue to play the Twenty20 format, but he admitted it was an emotional moment to call time on his ODI career. “I am retiring from one-day cricket,” said Malik, who was dropped after a disappointing World Cup featuring two ducks in three matches.

“I’m sad as I’m leaving the format I loved the most but this will allow me to spend more time with my family and concentrate on the Twenty20 World Cup next year,” added Malik, who is married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza. Malik’s decision came after a Pakistan win which was not enough to take the 1992 champions into the semi-finals. Pakistan were ousted by New Zealand on net run-rate despite finishing level on 11 points after nine matches.

9️⃣ centuries
4️⃣4️⃣ half-centuries
1️⃣5️⃣8️⃣ wickets
7️⃣5️⃣3️⃣4️⃣ runs

Shoaib Malik has retired from ODI cricket. What a career he's had 👏#PAKvBAN | #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/DJqc0w4YrO

— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) July 5, 2019

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Malik appeared in 287 one-day internationals and scored 7,534 runs with nine hundreds. His last appearance came in the defeat against arch-rivals India in Manchester on 16 June. As an off-spinner he finished with 158 wickets, while he also captained Pakistan in 41 ODIs. Malik said he was disappointed to finish on a low note. “Yes, I wanted to help my team win the World Cup as a senior but at times things don’t go the way you think and that’s part and parcel of cricket,” he said. “You don’t judge a player on two or three matches, but I am still happy that the player who replaced me performed well,” Malik said of Haris Sohail, who scored half-centuries against South Africa and New Zealand. “I never thought that I will play 20 years for Pakistan but when you play with hard work and honesty you achieve the best and that happened with me. For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, click here