Shoaib Malik becomes first Pakistani to hit 1,000 fours in T20 cricket

In a major achievement, right-handed batter Shoaib Malik on Sunday became the first Pakistan cricketer to smash 1,000 fours in the T20 format.

Malik achieved a unique feat for Pakistan during a clash between Sialkot and Rawalpindi regions in the ongoing National T20 Cup at the UBL Sports Complex in Karachi.

Malik, who has represented Pakistan in 446 international matches, became the first Pakistani batter to score 1000 fours — in 482 innings — in T20 cricket. While doing so, he became only the eighth player in the history of cricket to achieve this milestone.

He also completed 400 sixes in the shorter format and became the only Pakistani to have done that so far.

Malik is currently captaining Sialkot in the National T20 Cup and the right-handed batter scored 84 off 56 balls with the help of 10 boundaries and helped his team set a 164-run target.

However, Malik’s efforts went in vain as Rawalpindi reached the target in 18.4 overs, with eight balls to spare.

It is worth mentioning that Malik had earlier expressed that he wants to break Chris Gayle’s record for most runs in T20 cricket.

The all-rounder needs 1719 runs to create history as he currently has 12,843 runs in 482 innings in T20 cricket while Gayle has 14,562 in 455 innings.

Considering how hard he has worked on his fitness throughout the years, it wouldn't come as a surprise if he kept playing the shortest format of the game for a couple more years and broke Gayle's record.

It must be noted that Malik is one of the longest-serving cricketers in Pakistan cricket. Making his international debut against West Indies at Sharjah in October 1999, he is still going strong at the top level even after 24 years since his debut.

The all-rounder made his ODI debut in 1999, then went on to represent Pakistan in 287 one-day matches, where he scored 7534 runs at 34.55 while also taking 158 wickets.

Malik’s Test career was short as the all-rounder only played 35 matches in total, scoring 1898 runs at 35.14 with a career-best score of 245 against England in 2015 in UAE. He took 32 wickets in the process.

In T20I, the 41-year-old scored 2435 runs at 31.21 with a strike rate of 125.64, he also took 28 wickets in 49 innings.