Short of wicketkeeping, there are few roles that have passed Shoaib Malik by on the cricket field. He has batted in every position in ODIs since his debut in 1999. He began at Test level batting in the lower-order and was even used as an opener, astonishingly, proving himself to be an adept one. As an offspinner in the modern mould, everything about his bowling, from short-stepping run-up to the doosra, bear striking similarities with Saqlain Mushtaq (though not as obviously gifted). And the action isn't clean enough - he has been reported twice at international level - once in October 2004 after which he played primarily as a batsman for the next six months, before undergoing elbow surgery to correct his action. And he was again reported in November 2005, after which he underwent elbow surgery again in early 2006. But it is his intelligence and versatility that mark him out and make him so vital to Pakistan's future. After Bob Woolmer's arrival, he became one of Pakistan's most intelligent ODI batsmen, regularly marshalling chases from one-down, setting up platforms for big totals as a thruster, scoring runs in vital matches and being at the heart of Pakistan's ODI resurgence. He is an uncomplicated batsman, with checked drives and cuts and useful slogs when needed. Against India, both in 2005 and 2006, all these qualities came to the fore. Yet, he can still come in at number six as he did against South Africa in 2003 once and blast 82 from 40 balls. More significantly, he has settled at Test level, scoring a vital, match-saving hundred against Sri Lanka at Colombo. Injuries kept him out of Tests against England and South Africa but as he returned to the ODI side with a World Cup looming, his batting intelligence was again shining through. He was talked in private circles within the PCB, as a future captain before he was given the job after Pakistan's disastrous World Cup ouster in 2007 and duly responded by guiding Pakistan to a series win over World Cup finalists Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi and reaching the final of the ICC World Twenty20. However, that was followed by Test-series defeats against South Africa and India, before presiding over a 12-ODI winning streak, a Pakistan record, albeit against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Against meaningful opposition, the pressure mounted on Malik to produce consistent results and a timely victory in the Kitply Cup final against India finally gave him and his side much-needed credibility. Malik however couldn't repeat match those efforts in the Asia Cup at home as Pakistan failed to reach the summit.

Cricinfo staff (July 6, 2008)

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