Veteran Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik is poised for a comeback to the Fortune Barishal squad on February 2nd, rejoining the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after a brief hiatus last week. The 42-year-old is anticipated to participate in the team’s concluding match in the Sylhet leg against the Khulna Tigers on February 3rd.

In a noteworthy development, Ahmed Shehzad has entered the Fortune Barishal lineup in Sylhet for the 2024 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season. Shehzad steps in as a replacement for Shoaib Malik, who departed from the team mid-season.

Shoaib Malik had initially returned to Dubai after featuring in just three games for the team, citing personal reasons for his departure. The seasoned Pakistani cricketer faced a lackluster performance in this year’s BPL, accumulating scores of only 17, 5, and 7 runs in three games while securing just one wicket. Speculation arose regarding possible match-fixing charges leading to his abrupt exit from the squad.

Initially, reports hinted at the termination of Malik’s contract with the team due to these allegations. However, franchise owner Mizanur Rahman dispelled any such rumors via social media, unequivocally denying any spot-fixing charges against the player.

Previously, Shoaib Malik had released an official statement elucidating the rationale behind his withdrawal from the Bangladesh Premier League. He also emphasized that the decision was a mutual understanding for planning his future with Fortune Barishal.

“I want to clarify and dispel the recent rumors surrounding my playing status with Fortune Barishal. After a comprehensive discussion with our captain, Tamim Iqbal, we mutually strategized our course of action. My departure from Bangladesh was necessitated by a pre-arranged media commitment in Dubai.”

In the fourth over of the innings, the Pakistani all-rounder conceded 18 runs due to no-balls and subsequent free hits. Regrettably, Fortune Barishal ended up losing the match as their opponents successfully chased down the 188-run target with two overs to spare and eight wickets in hand.

Subsequent to this occurrence, considerable speculation and debate arose regarding match-fixing suspicions, with particular attention drawn to Shoaib Malik’s no-ball mishap against the Khulna Tigers.

Shoaib Malik has experienced a whirlwind on social media in the past two weeks. His official declaration of divorce from Indian tennis star Sania Mirza marked the conclusion of his second marriage. Shortly thereafter, the 41-year-old Malik tied the knot with Pakistani actress Sana Javed, who is 30 years old.

Fortune Barishal’s upcoming match is slated for February 3rd against the Khulna Tigers. The team currently holds the fifth position on the points table, securing victories in two out of their five matches thus far.

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Malik was born in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan, on February 1, 1982, into a middle-class family. His father, Malik Faqueer Hussain, was a poor shopkeeper who sold local shoes and encouraged his son’s love of cricket. He succumbed to throat cancer in 2006 and passed away.

Malik divorced his first wife, Ayesha Siddiqui, on April 7, 2010. Malik married Sania Mirza, an Indian tennis player, on April 12, 2010, in accordance with Pakistani wedding customs at the Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad, India.

Shoaib Malik is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team (PSL) and currently plays for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League. He was captain of the Pakistan team from 2007 to 2009.

An All-rounder in the Sport of Cricket 

Since Shoaib Malik has been playing cricket for more than ten years, no one really knows what his ideal job is. He has played nearly every position on a team. Although he began his career as an off-break bowler, he is primarily a batsman in all situations.

He has been a successful opener in Tests and ODIs, a game-changer in limited overs, a threat as a lower-order slogger, and frequently a stodgy middle-order bulwark. He has also been a successful opener in ODIs and Tests. In the twenty-first century, he can be cruel anywhere.

Top Performances of Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik has played international cricket since 1999 and is still active today. He has played 35 Test matches for Pakistan and has scored 1898 runs, an average of 35.18, including three hundred runs in a Test and one double hundred.

He has scored 7534 runs at an average of 34.56 and nine hundred in 287 ODI appearances. He has played in 124 T20I matches so far, scoring 2435 runs at an average of 31.22. The following are his five best performances.

• 245 against England in 2015
• 148* against Sri Lanka in 2006
• 143 against India in 2004
• 111* against West Indies in 2002
• 101* against West Indies in 2017

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Indian Premier League Career of Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik, who participated in the inaugural IPL season, was signed by Delhi Daredevils. He only scored 52 runs in seven games and took two wickets in the competition. He made the decision not to participate in the IPL’s second season or any subsequent seasons because of the difficult circumstances that arose following the attacks in Mumbai in 2008.