All-rounder Shoaib Malik has called for holding cricket events between Pakistan and India on regular basis, saying that bilateral cricket series between the two countries not only promotes cricket but also helps bring closer the peoples across the borders.
Talking to media after a training session of the Pakistan cricket team for Asia Cup at Gaddafi Stadium on Friday, Shoaib said that the Pakistan cricket team needs not to take extra pressure while playing against India in the Asia Cup match on Sept 19 and take it as a routine and normal game. "Without any doubt, Pak-India matches have the status of nerve-wrecking encounters as they are being watched around the globe by millions of diehard lovers of the game. And in such circumstances, if a player takes extra pressure regarding the match, it is obvious that he may not be able to perform up to a certain level," he said. He urged his colleagues to take the match easy with a mindset of performing in a routine game and exhibit their natural game.
Malik said: "It is a hard fact that Pak-India matches take place after a long gap which makes such ties very important and the match winning team's top performer gains the status of a hero. "If both the countries play cricket frequently, these matches will not be considered of high importance," he added.
Shoaib Malik urged the team members to bring its one day performance at par with the test cricket in the United Arab Emirates when it opens its campaign in the Asia Cup on Sept 15. "It is on record that our team performs well in the test format in the UAE whereas its performance in the one day cricket is not of that level, and there is a dire need to bring improvement in its 50-over game for achieving our set target in the Cup," he said.
Malik announced that the World Cup in 2019 (one day) and World Cup T20 will be his last cricket assignments, but gave an indication to quit the game earlier from these two mega events. "It all depends on my fitness and performance. If in between a player better than me gets into the team, I will call it a day," he said.