Shoaib Malik's befitting reply to journo who asks him about seniority to team coach Misbah

Sat Jan 25 17:06:14 IST 2020

Pakistan cricket team started off their T20 series against Bangladesh with a swift win in the first match yesterday at the Gaddafi Stadium, and the squad’s veteran run machine Shoaib Malik showcased all the vibrancy on the pitch with a stormy knock of 58. While getting praise from supporters for being the senior in form, the batsman faced a trick question regarding the position of his junior Misbah-ul-Haq as the head coach of the team.

But, the player had the perfect response.

Image Courtesy: PCB/ESPNcricinfo

Misbah-ul-Haq, the former skipper hung his boots from limited overs cricket in 2015, and from Test cricket in the next year. The 45 year old took charge of the Pakistani squad in September 2019 along with the role of chief selector.

Following the match yesterday, Shoaib Malik was present in the post match interview. Renowned for his grooming of his juniors, the media threw him a question about his boss, questioning his seniority to Misbah, trying to throw him into a tizzy.

“Shoaib, you spoke about grooming youngsters in the team, which is a responsibility of a senior player. So, you are even more senior than your coach (Misbah-ul-Haq), will you groom him as well?” the interviewer asked.

However, the 37 year old had the perfect response to the tricky query.

He responded: “There is no one in the world who can say that he has learnt everything. Sachin Tendulkar couldn’t say that or other people couldn’t say that they have learnt anything.”

Malik, who debuted for the team in the West Indies ODI series 1999, is two years senior to Misbah, made his international debut in 2001 against New Zealand in Test cricket. While his junior has gone through retirement and taking charge of the team, the former captain mentions that learning is a never ending procedure.

He continued: “Learning process never ends. Lot of cricketers and coaches have come and gone, a lot happened but the learning process never stopped.”

Winning the toss and deciding to Bat first, Bangladesh put up a score of 141 in the first innings. However, it was the veteran Malik’s stunning 58-off-45, with five fours that was a major factor behing the win.

“We go after people very quickly. We want overnight results, which doesn’t happen. We need to show some patience and if someone has got a chance then we must wait a little. I understand, you guys want some masala, everyone wants masala but we need to think about the country as well sometimes,”

Malik concluded.