Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the series trophy, Malik declared that he has fully recovered from the ankle injury sustained soon after Pakistan lost the first Test against India in New Delhi last November.
“After going through the rehabilitation period in the past few weeks, I feel fit now, having passed the fitness test some day ago,” Malik told reporters. “I’m confident that I can play in the coming series.”
He termed the matches against Zimbabwe as important because they would give Pakistan invaluable practice before the tough home series against world champions Australia, while backing the selectors’ decision to try out new players.
“With due respect to Zimbabwe’s standing, I think this is the ideal time to blend those players who have been performing well in domestic cricket in the past few seasons,” Malik remarked.
The national selection committee, led by Salahuddin Ahmed, earlier on Friday included the uncapped trio of Nasir Jamshed, Samiullah Niazi and Kamran Hussain in a 15-member squad for the opening two games of the five-match ODI series which starts on Monday.
“I think these players deserve the chance of representing Pakistan. This would enable us to have a good backup for the future because there are certain areas in which we are lacking at the moment,” the skipper said.Malik lauded Zimbabwe for playing in Pakistan despite the law and order situation in the country and added that playing against the 11th-ranked side in one-day cricket should not be considered a walkover.
“Many people might say that it is not an ideal preparation [for the tough series against Australia] considering the strength of the current Zimbabwe team. But despite being young and inexperienced, they [Zimbabwe] are capable of surprising their opponents.
“And we should also appreciate the fact that Zimbabwe have come to play in Pakistan despite security concerns raised by some teams. It clearly proves that the Zimbabweans have no fear of touring our country. This visit gives a clear message to the cricketing world that things are not as bad as being unfairly said about our country,” Malik stressed.
Defending Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach who has drawn a lot of flak for the national team’s poor performance against South Africa and India, Malik said: “I think the criticism has been unfair because he [Lawson] is in his first year as the coach of an international side. There is no doubt that he’s learning and has his own set of ideas on how the team should operate. We must give him time before he delivers good results on a consistent basis,” he said.
Malik pointed out that it would be unfair to compare Lawson with Bob Woolmer who was Pakistan coach until he died during the World Cup in March last year. “Woolmer was very experienced when he joined us since he had been with South Africa for more than five years and had his own style as a coach.”
The Pakistan captain supported the former Australian fast bowler’s suggestion to bring in a sports psychologist to work with the team. “As long as it is for the team’s benefit, we should support the idea. But we will discuss the topic before reaching a consensus on that issue.”
Malik’s opposite number Prosper Utseya, while talking to reporters, said that Zimbabwe were looking forward to the one-day series despite losing badly in the four-day tour opener against the PCB Patron’s XI here on Thursday.
“The morale in the camp is high despite that loss. We’ll be better for the experience after having played a good side like Pakistan,” the Zimbabwean skipper said. “We had a few positives to take from that game with some batsmen having spent decent time at the crease, and the bowlers also going through long spells.”
Utseya, who sat out the side match because of an ankle problem, said that he was confident of being fit for the one-day series along with a few other players who were also not fit.
“The ankle is okay now. I shall be going through a fitness test tomorrow to assess it. Others like Sean [Williams] and Chamu [Chibhabha] are also making good progress,” he said.
Commenting on the series, Utseya, who bowls off-spin, said Zimbabwe had the ability to challenge Pakistan. “The one-dayers are altogether a different ball game. Despite Pakistan having the advantage of playing at home, we’ll try to give them a tough time. Our team is young but there are a number of players who have played a lot of one-day cricket.”