Should get another chance like Azhar: Inzamam on Pakistan cricketer whose career ended ‘unfortunately’

Inzamam added that PCB should give another chance to Malik like BCCI gave to former India captain Azharuddin.

Sighting former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s example, Pakistan’s former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said Saleem Malik should be given a second chance to give it back to cricket. Malik was handed a life ban in 2000 by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for match-fixing, which was lifted in 2008 by a Lahore local court.

Inzamam-ul-Haq (Screengrab)

Heaping praise on Malik, who scored 5768 runs in 103 Test matches and 7170 runs in 283 ODIs for Pakistan, Inzamam stated the former middle-order batsman can help young cricketers learn from his vast knowledge of the game. Inzamam also said it was unfortunate the way Malik’s career ended.

“It is unfortunate to see that his career ended like that. It should not have ended that way. But I believe he deserves a second innings to do something for the country,” Inzamam said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.

Inzamam added that PCB should give another chance to Malik like BCCI gave to former India captain Azharuddin.

“Like in India, former captain Mohammad Azharuddin was also named once, but he is now the President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Similarly, Malik should also be involved in some kind of cricket related activities.”

Putting him in same bracket as Mohammad Yusuf and Babar Azam, Inzamam stated Malik’s batting credentials were second to none while his cricketing acumen was also unmatched.

“The way Mohammad Yusuf used to play, the way Zaheer Abbas used to or the way Babar Azam plays, Malik was also same type of player. He has played more than 100 Tests for Pakistan and scored more than 7000 runs,” he said.

“The new generation might not have seen him play but he was great player. I have never seen someone analyse the game as well as he used to do. He might have been away from the game for more than 10-15 year but he still has a lot to give back.”

Hailing Malik’s cricketing brain, Inzamam said most of his predictions used to be correct.

“I must say that 90 percent of his predictions proved correct. I was his junior and he used to take very good care of me. I must say that he was a great player, whose entire focus always remained on the matches.

“I’ve not seen much batsmen shuffling in batting like Saleem Malik. He also taught that skill to me.

“Whenever he noticed that a new player with some potential [was] part of the team, he got closer to him to share the ways to improve fitness levels and batting techniques.

“The things which he used to tell us are not normally taught in coaching. He also used to tell us to be focused on the ground only and don’t pay attention to what is happening around. Everyone [teaches] you routine things. But these are the tips which take you forward and change your career.