Shoaib Malik reveals the reason behind his extraordinary success against Irfan Pathan in ODIs

Although Irfan Pathan dismissed Shoaib Malik in the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup Final, the Indian all-rounder could not trouble the Pakistani batter much in the 50-overs format of the game.

While Pathan took 34 ODI wickets in 23 matches against Pakistan, Shoaib Malik averaged 89.50 against him. In an interview with Cricwick, Malik explained how he achieved so much success against a bowler who troubled his teammates.

"My average against Irfan Pathan is good because I play the inswing well. At that time, Irfan did not bowl outswingers. He added it to his arsenal later, but early in his career, he majorly bowled inswinging deliveries. So, I knew he would bowl an in-swinger, and I prepared myself accordingly," said the 39-year-old.

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Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra targeted the edges of the bat: Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik has an excellent record against India in ODI cricket. However, his average against Zaheer Khan is just 25.16. When asked why Zaheer was so successful against him, Malik replied:

"Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra targeted the edges of the bat. Hence, they took many wickets against Pakistan. If a bowler targets the edge, he will be more successful. I feel my ability to play the inswinging deliveries helped me do well against Irfan."

Shoaib Malik has been away from the international arena for quite some time

Shoaib Malik was the cornerstone of the Pakistan cricket team during his prime. However, he has lost his place in all three formats now. The veteran all-rounder has not played a single international match this year.

Recently, Malik expressed his readiness to return to the team and bat in the middle-order. He will be back on the field this month to play for Peshawar Zalmi in the second phase of PSL 2021.

It will be interesting to see if Malik can regain his spot in the Pakistan team.

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