Former Pakistani international cricketer Shoaib Malik has cautioned young Pakistani cricketers against chasing money too soon in their careers. Malik made the comments during an exclusive podcast with ProPakistani’s How Does it Work?
Shoaib Malik stated,
If you are a professional athlete then you shouldn’t think about money because that is not the goal, the goal is to succeed in what you are passionate about. If you do that then everything follows, money, fame, and fan following.
“You shouldn’t think about different formats paying more” he added.
However, Malik also had advice for the Pakistan Cricket Board when it came to match fees to dissuade the leak of cricketing talent towards the shortest format of the game.
“The match fee of the red-ball cricketers should be more than the fee of the white-ball cricketers be it in international cricket or the domestic structure,” Shoaib Malik opined.
His comments come in the wake of the significant expansion of franchise cricket with several cricketing boards dealing with the problem.
Cricket New Zealand has already had big names reject their contracts in order to make more money on their globetrotting adventures while for Pakistan Mohammad Amir is a prime example of unfulfilled potential due to the boom of franchise cricket.
Amir, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, and Zaman Khan have all had limited participation in Pakistan’s international scene but have found plenty of suitors across the world while expected internationals Ehsan Adil, Sami Aslam, Hammad Azam, and Ramiz Raja Jr decided to leave Pakistan for better economic opportunities.
Will the upcoming stars of Pakistan heed Malik’s waning remains to be seen?