Shoaib Malik Says 2019 World Cup Will Be His Last But Wants To Play World T20I In 2020

Shoaib Malik said on Wednesday that 2019 ICC World Cup will be his last 50-over tournament but maintained that he still wants to play the Twenty20 format for his country and would like to play the 2020 T20I World Cup in Australia. The 36-year-old all-rounder is three matches away from tying his former team-mate Shahid Afridi's record as the most capped Pakistan player in T20Is. "The 2019 World Cup is my last World Cup, but I want to play in the World T20 in 2020; that is my goal for Twenty20 cricket," Malik was quoted by espncricinfo as saying.

"These are the two big goals which I'm looking at; let's see how it goes. If I'm consistently performing, then I want to play these two World Cups," the former Pakistan captain added.

Malik, whose next assignment is with the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which will be held from August to September this year, is excited at the prospect of playing in pitches resembling the conditions in the sub-continent.

"Guyana is more like you're playing in the subcontinent, I think," he said.

"If you're playing for a new team the expectations are a lot from you. When they have seen someone that did well for a longer run the expectations are obviously high," added Malik, who previously played for the Barbados Tridents for five years and helped them to the title in 2014.

(With IANS inputs)