Shoaib Malik is one of those cricketers who has seen it all throughout his momentous career which now has him at the helm of the Guyana Amazon Warriors squad.
The illustrious all-rounder, now enters his seventh year in the Caribbean Premier League, as the Hero sponsored event also gears up for a highly anticipated seventh edition.
Speaking with one of the most experienced T20Is players in the world, he was amused at the love for cricket he has seen in the Caribbean, especially by the fans.
“They’re very passionate about cricket… and even last year I’ve seen people show up at the grounds and see the crowd cheer for both teams and that was very fascinating for me. They enjoy every moment being at the ground.”
The 37-year old believes the CPL product is giving a lot of cricketers the exposure they need, especially the West Indian Team. “You see team the teams doing well in white ball cricket, even though they struggled a bit in ODI-cricket, things are getting better and that’s what any good league does for the Country and I think the CPL is doing the same thing.”
Malik opined that Franchise cricket is about winning the tournament but at the same time, it’s about developing your product and then expect consistent results which is the goal.
“You need experience with all the youngsters; we have a lot of youngsters and also experienced guys; especially [Shimron] Hetmyer, who did well last year and you can see he is improving day by day.” He also made mentioned of Sherfane Rutherford who played some great innings for the team yesteryear.
The former Pakistan captain went on to say, “I think we have some good youngsters and our senior players are supporting them. They’re gelling together and it a great sign for any team.” Attributed to this is the fact that GAW team is keeping the same cricketers and youngsters which will in term grow together.
He disclosed that he has spoken to both owner and management of the Amazon Warriors team and added that they are on the right track because you can see that the team has been performing consistently, so it’s just one step away from winning the title.
The Key…
The GAW has opened every door except the one which hold the spoils for the victor of the Hero Caribbean Premier League.
In his view, the accumulator of 345 T20Is, he sees a team that has little to no international commitments during the tournament, boasting a good chance of hoisting the hardware.
“I think the best thing is, whoever is going to start the tournament, the same players should play the whole tournament. I’ve seen in the recent past a lot of players were leaving to play International Cricket. Even the year we (Barbados) won in 2014, we had no international commitments.”
In 2018 during the Hero CPL, Malik became the 4th batsman to score 8000 runs in T20Is but his personal goals entails always winning, grooming young talents and having amity in the dressing rooms.
The charismatic player will be available for the entire CPL 2019 season for the Warriors and is hoping that this is the year his team lift the title since they have ticked all the boxes leading up to their first match.
