Who’d want to be Shoaib Malik? Just last year, he was being touted as the next best thing in Pakistan cricket. Then came the fall, when he was called for a suspect bowling action. Seeing his one-day berth under threat, he decided to practice keeping to increase his utility, and was seen at nets in Mohali doing exactly that.Then, famously, came the Kamran Akmal century.Today, Malik (22) is back where he started. He knows his options have narrowed even more. ‘‘I will now have to concentrate more on the ODIs to hold on to a regular place’’, he says with more than a touch of phlegmatism.But he is also aware that he has to keep plugging away. ‘‘I don’t know when or whether my action will be cleared. I began my career as a bowler who could bat and have improved my batting steadily. Now that I can’t bowl I have to think of something else to complement my batting. A cricketer has to adapt in order to survive.’’Things looked rosy for the handsome cricketer till he was pulled up by umpires Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar for suspect action during the Paktel Cup final against Sri Lanka at Lahore last October, the second time after 2002. He was then sent to the University of Western Australia, that correctional home for repeat offenders, and the report that came out wasn’t very encouraging. Where the ICC’s rules allow a 15-degree bend of the elbow, Shoaib was bending by about 21 degrees in his off-breaks and by about 34 degrees for his doosra.Malik’s last Test was against Australia in Melbourne in the 2004-2005 series, although he was in the team only as a batsman. His luck ran out when he was dropped in the following Test in Sydney. He wasn’t considered for Mohali and chances are he could be overlooked for Kolkata too.“It is a little disappointing not to be in the side. But, I guess that is for the coach and captain to decide,” he said.He has worries off the field as well. Unlike their Indian counterparts, the endorsements just don’t seem to crop up for the Pakistani cricketers. “The situation is real bad back home. We hardly get any products to endorse. The companies come to us, but what they offer is peanuts,” he said.
