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Shoaib eyes Pakistan comeback, targets World Cup

Middle order batsman wants to play one series before before getting to the biggest tournament
Hyderabad: Shoaib Malik has had a pretty good Champions League Twenty20, having topped the batting averages in the tournament with an impressive 86.00 per visit in the five innings he got to play before the Hobart Hurricanes bowed out with a defeat to the Kolkata Knight Riders in the semifinals. As much as he relishes the recent CLT20 success, Shoaib rues the absence of Pakistan players in the lucrative Indian Premier League. “Playing and being in India is a pleasure but one thing that bothers me is that there are no Pakistani players in the IPL,” he told this correspondent.
“There are coaches, umpires and other support staff but the players. And I would say after Indian cricketers, Pakistanis are the biggest stars compared to players from rest of the world, in India. I hope something will be done in that regard and they would consider Pakistan players in the IPL,” he adds. Being sidelined due to politics in the Pakistan Cricket Board as well as the team, the former Pakistan captain also wants to make a comeback to the national side, well in time for next year’s ODI World Cup. “I want to play for Pakistan, that’s the biggest honour,” he says.
However, he wants to iron out certain things ahead of an assignment. “Whenever I get the opportunity and they (PCB) call me I’ll seek clarity before I start playing for Pakistan because in the recent past I think I did not get enough chances. “There were no three or four straight games where I batted at one number (in the batting order). Being a senior player I felt it was their responsibility to tell me ‘ok, you’re going to play these many games, we want you to do these things.’
This time around, whenever I get the chance to play, I’ll speak to the team management and get clarity because in the past I have had to fight with the team management, the PCB as well as the team that we were playing against. “These sort of things teach you to be mentally strong. I am not a person who gets into politics and stuff like that. I am sure I’ll
play for Pakistan again,” Shoaib is confident.
With the World Cup around the corner, Shoaib is all tuned-up. “I am quite keen on playing next year’s World Cup. Now, they have announced the team for the Australian series and after this there is just the one (series) against New Zealand coming up. If they want me to be playing in the World Cup then they have to select me now for I
would need to play in a series before getting to
the biggest tournament.
“If they pick me just in time for the World Cup then I am not gonna play it, but would play straight after the World Cup,” the 32-year-old says, adding, “I think I have another four to five years of cricket left in me. My fitness is fine too.”
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