Malik plans to quit ODIs post 2019 World Cup
Lahore, June 26 : Ahead of Pakistan's tour of Zimbabwe later this month, former skipper Shoaib Malik has reportedly revealed his plans of retiring from 50-over cricket after the 2019 ICC World Cup in England and Wales.
Malik, who made his Pakistan debut in 1999 in an One-day International (ODI) against the West Indies at Sharjah, however wants to continue playing the shortest format of the game subject to his fitness and performances.
"The 2019 World Cup is my last event of the 50-over cricket. I will try to play T20 cricket if I continue to stay fit and put up performances," media reports quoted Malik as saying. He had retired from Tests in 2015.
Malik has so far scored 6,975 ODI runs at an average of 35.22, including nine 100s and 41 fifties and has taken 154 wickets with his off-spin bowling.
Malik, who has been part of Pakistan's two major cricketing moments -- the World T20 title in 2009 and the ICC Champions Trophy crown in 2017 -- expressed his desire to win the 50-over quadrennial tournament in 2019.
"I have set goals for myself and one of them is winning the World Cup 2019. I already have two major cricketing titles in my career, the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy, and now this is the only title left," he said.
Pakistan will next play Australia and Zimbabwe in a triangular series from July 1 to July 8.
The tri-series will be followed by a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe commencing from July 13.
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Stalin accuses Centre of trying to use women's quota as 'weapon,' slams EPS over delimitation
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has strongly criticised the Centre over the women's reservation and accused it of trying to use it as a "weapon" to tackle the opposition before taking up the delimitation exercise based on population.
"The Union government is not concerned about implementing reservations for women. If their concerns were genuine, they could have done it right away. Rather than doing that, the BJP-led Centre is thinking of using it as a weapon to tackle opposition and take up the delimitation exercise based on population," he told PTI in an interview.
"Hence, the women's reservation must be implemented immediately without showing delimitation as a reason," the DMK president added.
Expressing apprehensions on the proposed delimitation exercise, the CM said it was the DMK that raised the first voice asserting the rights of the state after realising that Tamil Nadu would be affected by the proposed exercise. He also attacked his rival and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami over the delimitation issue.
Recalling efforts made by the DMK to raise the issue of population-based delimitation, he said an all-party meeting and a meeting of CMs under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee seeking fair delimitation were convened. It sought to freeze delimitation for 25 years and stick to it based on the 1971 Census population.
"We urged the union government that states which successfully implemented population control programmes must not be punished," he added.
The party came up with "Tamil Nadu poradum, Tamil Nadu vellum" (Tamil Nadu will struggle, Tamil Nadu will win) and this is DMK's stand, he said.
"However, Palaniswami, who is seeking votes for the entry of the BJP through the backdoor, has till date been mute over delimitation, and this is a betrayal of the people of Tamil Nadu."
