Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik who did not get much of a chance to play in the World Cup said that he was practicing Yoga to recuperate from the disappointment.
He said that his wife, the youth icon, Sania Mirza really helped him through the bad phase and encouraged him to practice Yoga. He said, “It is a great form of exercise and mediation.”
He also hopes to make a comeback to the national team as soon as possible, for which he practices the age old art of meditation. Thus he puts it like, “I have been keeping myself fit with Yoga classes and intensive training so I am ready to make a comeback to international cricket whenever they want me to.”
The primary reason for his disappointment was, “Watching the World Cup from the sidelines was obviously hard but I have learnt to deal with the situation,” he said.
Malik also expressed his thoughts about the poor batting performance of the Pakistan team in the recent past and said it would be correct to appoint Javed Miandad as the batting consultant of the Pakistan team. In his words, “I don’t think there is a better cricketer than Javed Miandad to take over as batting coach. He has a great cricket mind and sharp insight into the game. I think he would be great.”
Malik was quite rational about the future of Pakistan cricket. He said, “Not having international matches in the country for the last two years has definitely hit the progress of the team and hurt the sport in Pakistan.”
He further insisted , that it would not only be important for Pakistan to resume bi-lateral ties with India , but also encourage other countries to tour Pakistan , as has been the exception for the past couple of years. Since the attack on Sri Lankan players in 2009, Pakistan has lost out on hosting major cricketing nations, since the time their reputation as a safe country took a blow.
This has certainly reduced the number matches that the Pakistani players are getting to play as there are hardly any teams, except the associate nations who might want to visit Pakistan when the national team is not playing a series overseas. To add to their woes the BCCI has not really encouraged the Pakistani players to participate in the IPL, as they fear about the security of the Pakistani players.
As a lover of competitive cricket, one would only hope that the Pakistani team gets all its issues sorted out, so that they once again be regarded as a team to play against and defeat.
Tags: Cricketer, Pakistan, Sania Mirza, Shoaib Malik, World Cup, Yoga
