Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik has been facing backlash on social media after posting a cheeky comment. Viewers were already processing Pakistan’s defeat in the Asia Cup 2022 final against Sri Lanka, and Malik’s tweet added fuel to the fire. Despite a promising start and reasonable bowling effort, green shirts lost by 23 runs. Pakistan got the hopes up after taking 5 wickets with ease. Still, Sri Lanka’s duo Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dhananjaya de Silva brought their team back into the game and gave their opponents a target of 171. Pakistan was only able to score 147 runs. There were also some unfortunate misses in the fielding, which made Pakistani fans criticize their players.
Malik, who was sidelined for Asia Cup, also jumped in the ring and alleged that “friendship, liking, and disliking” was the cause of Pakistan’s loss in the final. The tweet suggested that Malik was unhappy about not being selected to play in the national team for this tournament.
Social Media Reminds Shoaib Malik of His Own Performance
Shoaib Malik’s remark was not well received by many Pakistani fans who were hurt over losing the Asia Cup final. They diverted their attention to Malik and slammed him for an unpleasant response to the defeat instead of supporting the national team when it needed the most. Last year, Shoaib also spoke to the media and alleged that players were selected based on personal relationships rather than merit.
Malik has not played an international match for Pakistan since November 2021 against Bangladesh. Many questions were raised over the decision to exclude Malik from the Asia Cup squad despite being in good form. However, his recent antics on social media may have cost him that sympathy. Some Pakistani fans shared a video clip of him scolding Saeed Ajmal for dropping a catch to show his attitude toward teammates.
Running Personal Agendas
It was a bad time for Shoaib Malik to post this tweet as Pakistani fans refused to let him get away with this. They called him out to ask where he was when the same team defeated Afghanistan and India in Asia Cup. They found it scandalous that Malik only decided to talk when Pakistan lost but remained quiet on other excellent performances without him in the team.
It seems like you were waiting (/wishing) for them to loose. Didnt see a single tweet after that memorable win against Afganistan.
— Jibran Abbasi (@jwabbasi) September 11, 2022
Pakistanis Support Current Team
Former Pakistani wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal seconded Malik by saying, “Ustad G, Don’t be this much honest” (followed by tongue-wagging emoji). Akmal also became a target of criticism for being unsupportive of the current Pakistani team. Viewers called both of them “toxic” and accused them of being a part of an era when Pakistani cricket was at its worst. They praised the current team, especially Babar Azam, a 2-time ICC Player of the Year, a feat that no other Pakistani cricketer achieved before. So, fans thought Akmal and Malik were not eligible to talk trash about him or his team.
