Shoaib Malik announces Test retirement

Shoaib Malik spent most of his playing days ignored for the Test squad, but is retiring on an all-time-high

Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik has announced immediate retirement from Test cricket, at a press conference at the end of the third day’s play of the ongoing 3rd Test in Sharjah against England.

He explained that the reasons for his decision were that he wanted to concentrate on his family and on the shorter formats of the game. The 33-year-old has his sights set on the 2019 World Cup, saying that his country have several promising Test prospects.

"We have some good youngsters and now is the time to retire," he said. "Family comes first. I want to focus on the 2019 World Cup.

"My place in the Pakistan Test team can be taken by youngsters such as Babar Azam and Sohaib Maqsood."

Malik made his comeback into the Test side for the current series, featuring in the Test side’s scheme of things for the first time since August 2010. The selectors had chosen Malik as the 16th member in the squad on a special request, based on his current form.

Malik has played 34 Tests in his career, scoring 1860 runs at an average of 35.8, and has picked up 25 wickets. What is special though is that both his best individual batting and bowling figures were from the ongoing series – a series in which he was playing after a gap of five years.

He scored a career-best 245 in the 1st Test, and picked up figures of 4/33 on Tuesday – a stunning swansong.

The world has been taken aback by the timing of Malik’s retirement, and what is more, so is his teammate Mohammad Hafeez, who was his batting partner for a very short while on Tuesday.

An emotional @realshoaibmalik announces Test retirement, thanking his family, PCB and teammates past and present. pic.twitter.com/UhWv5z6Jlf

— Barny Read (@BarnabyRead) November 3, 2015

Mid-series retirements are rare. How about a mid-match one? Well played though..A gentleman cricketer. Rare breed in Pak that! #ShoaibMalik

— Adarsh Gautam (@go_adarsh93) November 3, 2015

Pakistan batsmen with Golden Duck in their last Tests: Haroon Rashid Shabbir Ahmed Zulqarnain Haider Shoaib Malik (today) #PakvEng

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) November 3, 2015

"I am surprised to know Malik has announced retirement. I just met him a while ago and had no idea about this decision" Hafeez

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) November 3, 2015

Judging by Hafeez's reaction he's quite surprised by Shoaib Malik's retirement from Tests #Cricket #PakvEng pic.twitter.com/NVAtd0WYkZ

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) November 3, 2015