ICC World Cup 2019: 5 International cricketing legends to say goodbye after the marquee event 

#2 Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik

Another cricketing legend who has announced his retirement, last year June from ODIs post ICC World Cup 2019 but expressed his desire to continue to play T20Is, Shoaib Malik. The 37-year-old Pakistan’s veteran stated “The 2019 World Cup is my last event of the 50-over cricket. I will try to play T20 cricket if I continue to stay fit and put up performances" at a press conference.

In 1999, when this legend started his cricketing journey as an off-spinner, not many would have predicted him to transform into the backbone of Pakistan batting unit over a span of two decades. Today, the prolific run scorer (7379 runs) has played at every batting slot in ODIs (279) starting from the opener down until No.10.

His excellent performances over the years earned him the leadership responsibilities however the stint didn’t last long (18 months) and ended with a humiliating loss to Sri Lanka. To make it even worse, the player was even banned for few months siting difference with other senior team members.

Today, the senior campaigner provides the much-needed stability in the middle order to the very aggressive Pakistan batting line up and will certainly play a vital role once again with his experience in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019.