Top 5 Replacements for Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik is one of Pakistan's best batsmen and has been for the last two decades. However, at the age of 36, he may only have a few years of international cricket left and it has become clear that Pakistan is trying to find a replacement.

Over the last three or four years, some solid middle-order players have emerged from Pakistani domestic cricket and some players have put themselves back into the mix for a long-time role. Here are the top 5 of those possible replacements.

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal has had plenty international experience and just needs to find consistency

He is the wildcard. Umar Akmal still has years left in his top-flight career and still has potential left to fill.

The main issues with Umar Akmal are his temperament and fitness. If he can use his axing from the national team to turn everything around, he may find success and get back into the setup, but at the moment, he is in a very difficult position, having even been dropped by his PSL side, Lahore Qalandars.

Asif Ali

After a fantastic PSL, Asif Ali has been called up to the T20 squad against the Windies

Another possible replacement for Malik is Asif Ali, although it may only be for the shortest format of the game. At the age of 26, Asif has had plenty of time playing top-class cricket and in the 2018 PSL, he had an average of 30, including multiple scores of over 30 and a superb 26 not out from 6 balls in the final against Peshawar Zalmi.

This type of a power hitter is exactly what Pakistan needs in their middle order in T20Is and thus, he may be the ideal replacement for Shoaib Malik. The main question is - Can Asif be a star in ODI cricket as well?

Umar Amin

Umar Amin has been very consistent over the last couple of years

Umar Amin made his debut for Pakistan in 2010 but he failed to impress with some low scores to his name, forcing him out of the national side in 2013.

However, the Quetta Gladiators batsman made his comeback in 2017 and has been involved in matches against Sri Lanka and New Zealand and was impressive in all of them. Amin still has a lot of work to do to get back into the national side permanently as he currently acts as a back-up in T20Is.

Hussain Talat

Talat has

showed

composure in PSL 2018 and also impressed with the ball

A very versatile batsman and a handy medium pace bowler, Hussain Talat is one of the ideal replacements for Shoaib Malik.

He has been extremely impressive in the PSL this year, with an average of 33. The only thing Talat is missing is international experience, which he will obtain during the West Indies tour of Pakistan, which begins on April 1, as he has been called up to the T20I squad.

Haris Sohail

Haris Sohail impressed in the Sri Lanka test series and in the New Zealand tour

The most likely candidate to replace Shoaib Malik is Haris Sohail. It seems the most reasonable and likely switch as both of them are consistent middle order batsmen who can chip in with some off-spin bowling and have enough international experience to rely on when in poor form.

Haris Sohail made a name for himself in 2015 with some fantastic performances batting at number three in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. His return to the set-up in 2017 saw him produce some amazing performances in the Test series against Sri Lanka and some solid performances against New Zealand in both ODIs and T20Is.

The fact that he has been successful so far in filling the huge gap left by Misbah and Younis and has flourished in all formats makes him the ideal man for the job.