Shoaib Malik has been retained as Pakistan’s captain until December 2008 after the PCB extended his current appointment by another year. Malik was made captain in April, following Pakistan’s dismal World Cup performance, originally until December this year.
“Malik has shown enough promise to warrant more time as captain,” Nasim Ashraf, the board’s chairman, said. "He has led the team well and all the players are comfortable with him.
“We are looking to have continuity in the captaincy as this is instrumental in the improvement of the team. Malik is young and learning and the perfect choice.”
The appointment of a vice-captain, however, will be made on a series- to-series basis. Younis Khan, deputy for the tour of India, is the third vice-captain during Malik’s tenure; Mohammad Asif was appointed for the Abu Dhabi ODI series against Sri Lanka, while Salman Butt replaced him for the ICC World Twenty20 and the home series against South Africa.
Decision in the middle of ODI series looks odd. Could be a confidence booster from PCB. Still they could have waited for the current series to be over. It’s not like his tenure was expiring this week. His appointment was until December 2007.
Gives an impression that PCB has awarded him after winning the 2nd ODI
Did anyone notice how he was walking around in the dressing room when Younis and Misbah were taking the team an inch closer. At one point he came to Afridi and patted him on the back and gave a couple of words of advice which brought a smile to the otherwise very tense and padded up Afridi. That's what a captain should be doing. Nice to see that.
He needs a lot of improvement in the field though.... his field placings, change of bowlers, innovations etc. have been very very ordinary. I was disappointed with his captaincy in these two matches. One has to be proactive... and he isnt even reactive. Reacts very late to the situations.
He needs a lot of improvement in the field though.... his field placings, change of bowlers, innovations etc. have been very very ordinary. I was disappointed with his captaincy in these two matches. One has to be proactive... and he isnt even reactive. Reacts very late to the situations.
kar to raha hay na??? team ki taraqqi pe khush ho liya karo yaar (compared to Inzy's no reactions) :D
quite frankly,, the captaincy was pathetic... nothing to be happy about... He was worse than Inzi in the first ODI... leads me to believe the guy has a poor cricketing brain.. seeing him just stand there with a blank face, not making any changes,,, even when india were 113/3 he did not attack at all. What was he thinking?? to play out 50 overs defending that kinda total?? Inzi on bhang could have done a better job than shoaib that day... and it was nothing special in the 2nd ODI either... batsmen ko dua do... warna it was pretty much 2-0
He needs a lot of improvement in the field though.... his field placings, change of bowlers, innovations etc. have been very very ordinary. I was disappointed with his captaincy in these two matches. One has to be proactive... and he isnt even reactive. Reacts very late to the situations.
What about the 20-20s? I think he did an oustanding job, where for once I saw a PAK TEAM playing against another team. Didn't see that for a long time now.
What the hell is this supposed to be? What if we perform horribly up till then? Nothing should be set in stone in Pakistani cricket. Even Inzi was captain for a long time only because we did get some good wins under him. Ridiculous stuff, this.
The decision has to be made in a haste. Little doubt remains as to who is better suited for the reigns of captaincy, Malik is the only logical choice in all formats of the game. Even then, and for all intents and purposes, such a decision at such a moment could very well backfire.
This thing with PCB will never change. To immediately reward players with millions of dollars and extending their contracts in the middle of an important series ("even more important than the World Cup") are just two dots that are not connecting with each other. A series with Australia could have been set as a benchmark or perhaps even by the end of this series (Tests + ODI's). A hard and fast decision casted in stone. PCB has outdid itself.
What the hell is this supposed to be? What if we perform horribly up till then? Nothing should be set in stone in Pakistani cricket. Even Inzi was captain for a long time only because we did get some good wins under him. Ridiculous stuff, this.
Relax Sir, every contract has It's fine prints. If we'll be performing horrible in a timeframe of some weeks/months, then he'll have to quit his captaan cy.
We already knew this. If I am not mistaken Naseem Ashraf had already mentioned extending Malik's tenure by a year during the one-day series against South Africa. I don't see it as a bad move even though I want Younis Khan to lead Pakistan. This should give Younis more time to reflect on his earlier decision. The last thing we want is Younis accepting the role when his heart is not really in it.
Prediction: This ridiculous contract will be thrown out of the window and Younis will be the new captain once India and Australia have thrashed us in test matches. I would love eggs on my face for this one, but that seems like the most probably scenario seeing as how Malik is going.
Prediction: This ridiculous contact will be thrown out of the window and Younis will be the new captain once India and Australia have thrashed us in test matches. I would love eggs on my face for this one, but that seems like the most probably scenario seeing as how Malik is going.
Who cares about Test Matches anyway. We will win ODI's and will be celebrated as hero's around the world. No one will ever ask about our poor performance at the Test Series.
Eradicate them, I say.
I can't seem to recall any captain who started off badly and gradually developed to be a great Captain.
The simple fact is - either you have leadership skills or you don't.
Shoaib Malik does not seem to be a natural leader of men - he seems like a guy who is happy with keeping a low profile and is uncomfortable being in the limelight.
As long as Pakistan is winning (inspite of Malik's captaincy) - most people would ignore Malik's deficiencies in the Captaincy department....but a couple of bad series and I can easily see Malik's captaincy becoming center-stage.
Who cares about Test Matches anyway. We will win ODI's and will be celebrated as hero's around the world. No one will ever ask about our poor performance at the Test Series.
Eradicate them, I say.
If you are being serious (I kind of doubt it, but who knows), I know now why the beautiful sport of TEST cricket is dying in our country.
