Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik on Friday made it clear that he has no intentions of announcing his retirement from the sport.
"I am saying very clearly today that I have not even thought about retirement. I have no plans to retire now because I am fit, I can bat, I can bowl and I can field," the 39-year-old all-rounder told the media on Friday.
Malik had recently taken shots at the Pakistan team management in a series of tweets, inferring that captain Babar Azam was not being allowed to take his independent decisions and the head coach had personal likes and dislikes in selecting players.
He had also called for the appointment of a white-ball coach for the national team. "I have recently signed two-year contracts in some leagues so where does questions of me taking retirement after the World Cup arise," he said.
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Malik, despite focusing on only the T20 format now since retiring from the Test and ODI formats, has been kept out of the Pakistan white-ball squad since last year as head coach Misbah-ul-Haq keeps trying several new players in the playing XI.
Malik apparently has made it clear to the coach that even if he considers selecting him again he will bat at a set position of number four in the lineup and not be moved around like in the past.
Malik also claimed that whenever he played in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) or other foreign cricket leagues he kept on performing in the shortest format and has worked very hard on his fitness even now to compete with younger players.
The veteran allrounder has played in 35 Tests, 287 one-day internationals and 116 T20 internationals for his country.
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