Sana Javed clarifies statement about husband Malik’s ‘presence’ in Pakistan team

KARACHI: Renowned Pakistan actress Sana Javed on Monday clarified her statement about husband Shoaib Malik’s presence in the national team ahead of the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 final against arch-rivals India, stressing that having a senior player is compulsory.

Just hours ahead of the commencement of the eight-team tournament’s final on Sunday, Sana took to Facebook and claimed that had the veteran all-rounder been a part of the Pakistan team, his experience would be a beacon of hope for them and would have inspired belief amongst them.

“If Shoaib Malik were part of the team today, his years of experience would become a beacon of hope for both the Pakistani team and its people. His presence on the field alone would be enough to ignite courage and inspire belief in victory,” Sana wrote on Facebook.

Her post quickly went viral, sparking mixed reactions from fans. While some appreciated her words, others criticised the statement, suggesting she was “living in an imaginary world.”

Several fans even speculated that Malik himself may have written the post from his wife’s Facebook account.

After the fans’ outburst, the actress clarified her statement by suggesting that she did not assert that Malik is necessary in the team and had instead called for having a senior player in the lineup, citing the example of star batter Babar Azam and wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan.

“I am not saying Shoaib Malik is necessary in team . But having a single senior in team is compulsory for example Babar Azam, M. Rizwan and others ?” she wrote.

For the unversed, Shoaib Malik, who made his international debut in 1999, has represented Pakistan in 35 Tests, 287 ODIs and 124 T20Is, with his last appearance coming in the shortest format against Bangladesh in November 2021.