England vs Pakistan: Shoaib Malik returns home due to personal issue

Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik who was in England with the national team to feature in the T20I and ODI series against the hosts has been granted leave and will return home. He had requested the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) leave citing personal reasons and as a result, will be unavailable for 10 days. Malik is also a part of the Pakistan World Cup 2019 squad and would’ve wanted to use this series to get used to the conditions there.

The Men in Green are scheduled to play one T20I and five ODIs against England starting Sunday, May 5. The series concludes on May 19 whereas Pakistan start their World Cup campaign against Windies on May 31 at Trent Bridge. Before that they also play a couple of warm-up matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

It will be the last time Malik takes the field for the national team in ODIs. As he had stated his intentions of retiring from 50-overs cricket after the World Cup. “This will be my last World Cup and I want Pakistan to win it. I believe there is a fantastic combination of young and senior players in this squad,” the 37-year-old had said earlier.

The big-ticket contest in the ICC megaevent is the India vs Pakistan game, while most have already been talking about it. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed has said they will face all their matches like it is a contest against India, Malik, on the other hand, doesn’t want to treat it like a war.

“It’s my own opinion but the word ‘war’ is a very strange word to me. I don’t think it’s good to use that word – definitely not in sports,” Malik told a Pakistani journalist.

“It’s just another match and just like the ones against other teams,” said Malik.

Pakistan tour of England fixtures:

England vs Pakistan – Only T20I – May 05, Cardiff

England vs Pakistan -1st ODI – May 08, The Oval

England vs Pakistan – 2nd ODI – May 11, Hampshire

England vs Pakistan – 3rd ODI – May 14, Bristol

England vs Pakistan – 4th ODI – May 17, Trent Bridge

England vs Pakistan –  5th ODI – May 19, Leeds

Pakistan squad: Sarfaraz Ahmed (C), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-Ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Hassan Ali, Abid Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali

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