New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Veteran Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik has become the third player to cross 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. The 38-year-old player crossed the milestone when he scored 74 runs for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan’s National T20 Cup.
Malik hit eight fours and two sixes in 44 balls on his way to the score on Saturday in the match against Balochistan in Rawalpindi. It was not enough, however, as his team ended up losing the match by six wickets.
Malik’s career tally in T20 cricket currently stands at 10,027 runs. West Indies’ Chris Gayle was the first to cross 10,000 runs in the shortest format of the game after which his fellow Caribbean player Kieron Pollard crossed the milestone. Gayle’s career tally currently stands at 13,296 runs while Pollard has 10,370 runs to his name.
Since making his debut for Sialkot Stallions in 2005, Malik, , husband of India tennis star Sania Mirza, has played 395 T20 matches and has an average of 37.41. He has scored 62 half centuries and also picked 148 wickets.
The former Pakistan captain has also played 116 T20Is for the national team and scored 2,335 runs. He is the fourth highest run scorer in T20Is, behind New Zealand’s Martin Guptill (2,536 runs) and India’s Rohit Sharma (2,773 runs) and Virat Kohli (2,794 runs).
