Shoaib Malik      

There is almost no role in a cricket side that Shoaib Malik hasn't filled, so much so that over ten years into his career, nobody is sure what his precise and best role is.

In essence, he is a batting allrounder, though he started his career as an off-break bowler. Partly the problem is that he is capable, as a batsman, of fulfilling many roles with some competence. He has had success as an opener in Tests and ODIs; he has been game-changing as a limited-overs one down and dangerous as a lower-order slogger; often he has been a stodgy middle-order bulwark. In Twenty20s, he can be brutal anywhere.

It is thus difficult to recall a definitive Malik high; was it his maiden Test hundred as an opener against Sri Lanka in Colombo? A few hands that led to an ODI series win against India in 2005-06? A Champions Trophy hundred against India?

His basic game is tight, especially in the subcontinent. He isn't pretty, though there can be pleasantness in his high, stiff-elbowed drives and lofts. Square on both sides he is precise. Further, he runs well. With his flattish, very modern off-spin always useful for more than a few overs and a wicket here and there - less so after concerns over his action - and an athletic and languid presence in the field, Malik should be far greater a sum of his parts than he actually is.

He was for long earmarked as a potential captain - the late Bob Woolmer thought him the sharpest tack in Pakistan's set-up - but a stint with the captaincy was troubled, unimaginative and ended badly. It got even worse when the board banned him for a year in March 2010 as part of its unprecedented action on senior players after a disastrous tour of Australia.
Osman Samiuddin

• October 14, 1999
  Beginning at No. 9
  • Fails to get a chance to bat on his debut ODI, but picks up the wickets of Sherwin Campbell and the dangerous Ricardo Powell in the Coca Cola Champions Trophy against West Indies in Sharjah.
    
• February 14, 1999
  Allrounder you say?
  • Advances his credentials as an allrounder with a dazzling unbeaten 111 against West Indies yet again in Sharjah. His maiden hundred off 130 balls also earns him his first Man-of-the-Match award.
    
• May 11, 2001
  Throwing a spanner
  • The PCB's group of bowling advisors examines Malik's action after the ICC sends a tape for review. The board clears his offbreaks, but recommends training with former spinner and umpire Mohammad Nazir (jnr) with regard to the doosra. He would be reported once again in October 2004 and would undergo surgery in May 2006 as the kink had resulted from an accident suffered two years ago.
    
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• August 31, 2001
  A tepid Test debut
  • Makes his Test debut along with Taufeeq Umar in the first match of the Asian Test Championship against Bangladesh in Multan. Doesn't get a chance to bat, but contributes two wickets during Bangladesh's first innings, as Pakistan complete a mammoth innings-and-264-run win.
    
• July 18, 2004
  Ton and four wickets v Hong Kong
  • Picks up his career best figures of 4 for 19, against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup at the SSC. The bowling effort is preceded by 118 off 110 balls as Pakistan steamroll their way to a 143-run victory via the D/L method.
    
• July 25, 2004
  Familiar foes bring out the best
  • Follows up the Hong Kong performance with another century against India in another Asia Cup league match at the Premadasa. The 127-ball 143 becomes his highest ODI score, as he finishes on top of the run-scorer's charts for the tournament.
    
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• May 2, 2005
  In a fix
  • Is handed a one-Test ban after admitting to deliberately losing the domestic Twenty20 match between Sialkot Stallions and Karachi Zebras. Engineers the result so that Sialkot lose the match, thereby knocking the Lahore Eagles out of the tournament. Misses the first Test against West Indies in Barbados.
    
• May 10, 2005
  All clear for the action
  • Is cleared of a suspect bowling action. The all-clear arrives after Malik went to the sports institute of South Africa the previous month, whose report said his arm bend was within the tolerance level of 15 degrees.
    
• Feb 6-13, 2006
  Glorious run against the neighbours
  • The Indian bowlers can't keep him quiet as Malik scores 90, 95 and 108 in successive home ODIs against India. Pakistan, though, end up losing two of those matches.
    
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• March 30, 2006
  Maiden ton to the rescue
  • Scores a vital, match-saving hundred against Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo, registering his maiden Test century as well. His unbeaten 148 leads Pakistan's charge during the chase of 458. The match ends in a draw, but Pakistan win the second and final Test to clinch the series.
    
• April 19, 2007
  The lead role
  • Following Pakistan's disastrous 2007 World Cup campaign, is appointed captain by the PCB in both Tests and ODIs. He succeeds Inzamam-ul Haq and becomes the 25th player to lead Pakistan.
    
• January 27, 2009
  The crown passes on
  • Following Pakistan's worst ODI defeat to Sri Lanka at home, he is relieved of his duties as captain. Younis Khan takes over the charge. Two weeks after his ouster, Malik's coach and manager term him "a loner and aloof".
    
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• September 26, 2009
  Revenge in Centurion
  • Scores his fourth ODI hundred against his favourite opponents, India, as Pakistan avenge their 2003 World Cup defeat at the same ground. The occasion is a Champions Trophy match, and Malik scores as India are defeated by 54 runs.
    
• February 5, 2010
  Back in top job
  • With Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi banned for two matches, he leads the team for the one-off Twenty20 against Australia in Melbourne. He is also named captain for both Twenty20 internationals against England in Dubai that follow.
    
• March 10, 2010
  Banned and fined by PCB
  • The Pakistan board comes down hard on Malik on disciplinary grounds, banning him from the national team for a year and fining him two million rupees.
    
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