IPL 2018: 5 Pakistan players who deserved a chance this time

#1 Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik is often fondly known as the 'Son-in-law of India'

Married to Indian Tennis star, Sania Mirza, Shoaib Malik has more than one connection with the country. For starters, he is one of the 11 Pakistani players to have played in IPL 2008 where he was a part of the Delhi Daredevils franchise. Malik has formerly served as the captain of the Pakistan national side and has participated in major international T20 leagues such as the Big Bash League, Caribbean Premier League and the Bangladesh Premier League.

Batting all-rounders are of great worth in a tournament such as the IPL and this makes Malik fit the bill aptly. Armed with a T20 batting average of 30.24 and a healthy strike rate of 119.4, Malik's recent outing against the Windies in the 1st T20 of the ongoing bilateral series witnessed him score an unbeaten knock worth 37 runs, that helped Pakistan towards victory.

With the Mumbai Indians side looking slightly bleak in their spin department, the presence of Malik as an off-break option, while having his prolific batting skills simultaneously on offer, would come in extremely handy for the MI boys. An exciting face-off to look out for would definitely be when Malik would take on expert opposition bowlers like Sunil Narine and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.