PSL 2024: Abdul Razzaq accuses Shoaib Malik of selfish play

Former cricketer Abdul Razzaq accused his former teammate Shoaib Malik of being selfish during the Karachi Kings’ match against Multan Sultans in the ongoing Pakistan Super League. Razzaq mentioned that the veteran cricketer played well but added that Malik only played for himself and didn’t think much about the team.

Notably, batting first, Multan posted 185 runs on the board in the first innings. Opener Dawid Malan made 52 runs, while Reeza Hendricks hit 79* runs off 54 deliveries. When it came to the chase, Karachi lost wickets in quick succession, making it difficult for them in the middle. However, batting at number four, Malik took control of the situation and made 53 runs off 35 deliveries.

However, Razzaq expected Malik to play with a better strike rate as the conditions were ideal for the batters to accelerate.

“A player is someone who plays for a team,” Razzaq said, sharing his views on Geo News programme ‘Harna Mana Hai’.

Meanwhile, apart from Razzaq, skipper Shan Masood got in good touch as he made 30 runs while Kieron Pollard made 28 runs off 29 deliveries. The former West Indies skipper won the recently concluded ILT20 on Saturday and immediately joined Karachi to play against Multan on Sunday. He took a significant amount of time to settle down but couldn’t get going at all as Multan won the match by 55 runs.

Karachi, meanwhile, will have to improve significantly. Be it their batters or bowlers, none of them looked impressive against Multan. There’s pressure on them to do well this season as well. Karachi failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2022 and 2023 and their start in PSL 2024 doesn’t look promising.

Multan, on the other hand, lost to Lahore Qalandars in back-to-back two finals. The goal would be to get the job done this time around and with that in mind, the Mohammad Rizwan-led side has strengthened their middle order. They also have quality pacers in the ranks, who can play a crucial part in helping them get over the line.