Abdul Razzaq makes a bold claim for Shoaib Malik

Taking on his former teammate Shoaib Malik for his futile performance during the Karachi Kings match on Sunday, former Pakistan cricketer Abdul Razzaq has claimed that he has affected the team as a whole.

Razzak, who has played with Malik during his international cricket career, said the sportsman played well but only for himself and not for his team.

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

Multan Sultans, a day earlier, demolished Karachi Kings in a convincing 55-run win in the third match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 9 at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Malik is playing for the Kings in the latest edition of the league which played the first match of the current season.

He was the top scorer, scoring 54 runs off 35 balls. However, that didn’t help his side clinch victory as the Sultans bowlers were up to the task as they restricted the Kings to 130/8 while defending a target of 186.

During the Kings’ innings, Malik was joined by skipper Shan Masood, after which the two began a turnaround for their side.

The batters added 52 runs for the third wicket. But in the ninth over, Masood was dismissed by Usama Mir.

After the captain’s dismissal, Malik played a one-sided partnership along with Mohammad Nawaz scoring 37 runs.

But Abbas hit back in the next delivery and dismissed Malik, who remained the top scorer for the Kings with 53 off 35 deliveries, with five boundaries and two sixes.

The all-rounder, knowing the team needed increasing run-rate, shifted gears by smashing a six and two boundaries off Iftikhar Ahmed deliveries in the 12th over.

He scored his 50th run off the first delivery of the 13th over by Abbas Afridi through a cover drive but was bowled by the Sultans bowler.