Saleem Malik was regarded as one of the most gifted batsmen ever to have graced the game in his prime. The Pakistani cricketer was born on this day in 1963 and went on to achieve big things in the game.
With supple wrists, and silky timing, Malik dominated spinners all over the world but was equally adept against menacing fast bowling. Debuting in 1982, he played 103 Tests for Pakistan, scoring at an average of 43.69 with 15 centuries and 29 fifties to his name.
He is the only player from Pakistan to be handed a lifetime ban. Malik captained Pakistan in tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe before being suspended from cricket having been accused of bribery. He was however found innocent and allowed to continue his career.
He played his last Test match in January 1999 but ended his cricket career in disgrace, having been given a life ban as a result of Justice Qayyam's enquiry in May 2000
Warne's autobiography 'No Spin' released in 2018 has mention of an incident where the Australian (Warne) was allegedly offered USD 200,000 by none other than Pakistan cricketer Saleem Malik to bowl badly at the 1994 Test between the two nations in Karachi
In his own words “Saleem Malik offered me 200,000 US dollars, he said it will be in my room in half-an-hour if I bowl wide of the off-stump and the match was a draw. That's the bottom line of what he asked,"