We
love cricket but we hate our cricketers. This notion seems to be paradoxical
but it’s a reality. It is very hard to be a cricketer in our country. First
there is no system that can locate or spot talent and second there is no
quality domestic cricket that can polish that talent and impart skill in it.
Our cricket is so redundant that we are always a step behind from our contemporaries;
so, when a player comes either he is a parchi or a mirchi. Parchi fades away
with time but a mirchi leaves you teary eyed but you still want more of it
because you are hooked to the taste. However, this is not the topic of my blog.
It is Pakistan cricket so there will always be reasons to rant about and
criticizing it our favorite past time. Sometimes I think cricket is the
youngest member of our families; always wrong and the target of every jibe. This peace is about Shoaib Malik.
Shoaib
Malik has taken retirement from ODIs. This is not big news, sportsmen retire
all the time. They have a useful life and Malik has already taken his leave from
the test cricket. He and we all would have hoped a better farewell for him but
unfortunately it ends like this for him. Customary thing would be to wish him
luck and move forward but the longevity of his career does not make the goodbye
easy. There are so many moments. There are so many memories and there are so
many Shoaib Maliks.
I
still remember when Malik hit his first international maximum, he cramped and he looked cute while cramping. I remember his
bowling action because it was similar to that of Saqlain Mushtaq. He was just a
boy when he started playing and it has been 20 years since then. He came of age
in the mid 2000's. Woolmer’s nurturing made him a good number 3 in ODIs and the
added advantage was that he could spin the bowl too but after being called for
a suspect action couple of times and a failed captaincy stint he got dropped.
He should have faded away had he been somewhere else but here in our cricket,
picture is always baaki hay meray dost so, he made comebacks after comebacks.
Every time written off and every time he bounced back with more zeal and more
zest. So when you will look, you will find him everywhere; braking his arm
while taking a catch against England, winning a one day series in India, losing
a T20 domestic match because he was angry at the umpires, grieving Woolmer in
Jamaica, losing a T20 World Cup final then two years later winning one, ICC
Champions Trophy 2017 final and vice versa. He was part of every frame and ever
memory good or bad. He has been an eye witness to our changing fortunes. He has
seen the game evolving and changing. In pure meme terms, Malik has become the
Qaim Ali Shah of our cricket.
All
these moments made him what he is today. That is why I wrote that there were
many Shoaib Maliks. His journey is full of ups and down; from a promising young
talent to a dependable team man then from a failed captain and bits and pieces
player to the senior pro and mentor who trotted the globe and returned only to
share his gift. The Obi Wan-Kenobi that was always fighting his inner Darth
Vader. Whatever the experts think of his batting technique and flaws as a
player for me he will always be someone who wasn’t able to materialize his
potential.
His
exit from the game is an end of an era but there will always be so many stories
to tell.
