I will continue to play as long my body permits, reveals Shoaib Malik

He retired from Test cricket after a memorable double century against England in UAE and bid farewell to the one-day format after the 2019 World Cup in England. But Malik, who turns 38 on February 1, has confirmed his wishes to play T20 cricket even after the upcoming World Cup in Australia — so long as his body permits it.

"Yes I had said I will retire from ODI cricket after the World Cup (in 2019) and I did that and I also said I might retire completely after the World Cup T20. But right now I think it is about short-term goals when the time comes I will think about it," Malik told AFP.

"As a senior player I have a responsibility and goal and thankfully my body is supporting me in my career and I will continue to play till I feel good about it. I am not someone who will hang around just for the sake of it."

After a poor show at the World Cup, Malik — and the other senior players in the squad — was subject to harsh criticism and was eventually ignored for the national T20 squad.

"I am a human being and I can also fail and yes I can also have negative thoughts and get angry for what happened. My performances in the World Cup were not good but I have always performed well in the T20 format," Malik said.

However, Malik and senior teammate Muhammad Hafeez — who has confirmed that he will be calling it a day after the T20 World — won surprise recalls to the Pakistan T20 squad for the home series against Bangladesh. And though he was ignored when it came to central contracts for the year ahead, Malik fully understands the thinking from the team management.

"We have a lot of youngsters coming through. So they looked at it that way and this time they have also reduced the number of players who were given central contracts," he pointed out.

"I am not thinking about the World Cup. I will try to give my best at whatever opportunity I get now. I have not set long-term goals as the World Cup is far away. I just want to perform and help groom the youngsters in the dressing room. I and Hafeez want to share our experiences with them."