By BIPIN DANI
Former Sri Lanka captain Santath Jayasuriya is happy to welcome Pakistani all rounder Shoaib Malik in his company. Malik, who will be 38 on Saturday is the 8th player to play international cricket over 4 decades.
Malik made his international (ODI) debut in 1999 playing against West Indies at Sharjah. His Test debut was in 2001 (against Bangladesh in Multan) and now is also a part of the ongoing home series against Bangladesh.
Malik, who has captained Pakistan in the past, joins the likes of Wilfred Rhodes, Dennis Brian Close, Frank Woolley, Sachin Tendulkar, Jack Hobbs, George Gunn and Sanath Jayasuriya in the elite list.
Speaking exclusively over telephone from Colombo, Sanath Jayasuriya said, "Shoaib is a versatile player and for some reason he always used to do well against us. He made plenty of runs against us and was always a threat with the ball".
"The secret for his longevity is his fitness. It is remarkable effort to stretch his career thus far".
"It is an extremely difficult feat nowadays given the volume of cricket. I don’t see very many players having careers that are that long, unless they are extremely fit", Sanath Jayasuriya signed off.
