Image Credit- SLC
Shoaib Malik, who abruptly left the BPL last week,
will return to the Fortune Barishal team on February 2. He is expected to be
available for the team’s last Sylhet leg match on February 3 against Khulna
Tigers.
It was not clear initially why Malik had left. Later,
he tweeted: “I would like to address and dismiss the recent rumours
circulating about my playing position with Fortune Barishal. I had a thorough
discussion with our captain, Tamim Iqbal, and we mutually planned the way
forward. I had to leave Bangladesh for a pre-committed media engagement in
Dubai.”
Malik batted at No. 6 for Barishal in his first three
innings and scored 7, 5*, and 17*. In the first two games, he got one over in
the bowl, but in the third, he was not allowed to bowl.
When Malik played the Khulna Tigers in Mirpur in the
second game, there was a social media uproar. As Fortune Barishal failed to
hold 187, he overstepped three times while bowling the fourth over of the
innings, allowing 18 runs to be spilled.
In men’s T20 cricket, Malik is the only bowler to
overstep three times in a single over. When Miguel Cummins overstepped five
times in a 2014 CPL encounter, he was the only player to bowl more front-foot
no-balls in an over.
With two victories from 5 games, Barishal is presently
ranked fifth in the points table.