Malik named Pakistan skipper by AFP

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Player:

Shoaib Malik

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DateLine: 19th April 2007

 

Pakistan Thursday appointed Shoaib Malik as captain of the national cricket team, hoping the young all-rounder can revive the country's fortunes after their dismal World Cup.

 

The 25-year-old Malik was unveiled at a press conference here as the successor to Inzamam-ul-Haq, who quit as skipper after Pakistan exited the tournament in the first round.

 

"He is a unanimous choice. He is the best man to lead the team," Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Nasim Ashraf told reporters, flanked by Malik himself.

 

Malik will be the captain of both the Test and the one-day side until at least the end of 2007, he added.

 

The appointment of the relatively inexperienced Malik came after senior batsman and former vice-captain Younis Khan refused to assume the leadership role for personal reasons.

 

PCB sources said they opted for the right-handed batsman and useful offspinner over more established names like master batsman Mohammad Yousuf because they wanted a fresh start for the team.

 

Malik is likely to face pressure to deliver and command a team which has several captaincy hopefuls including Yousuf, flamboyant pacer Shoaib Akhtar and mercurial all-rounder Shahid Afridi.

 

Pakistan, the World Cup winners in 1992, were knocked out of the current edition in the Caribbean after losing to minnows Ireland on March 17 in one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history.

 

The following day coach Bob Woolmer was found murdered in his Jamaica hotel room. An overwhelmed Inzamam announced his retirement from one-day cricket and relinquished the captaincy soon afterwards.

 

Malik, from the industrial town of Sialkot near the Indian border, has played 18 Tests and 137 one-day internationals with a batting average of 37.64 since making his debut against Bangladesh in 2001.

 

His bowling action has been reported twice, once in 2005 and then again in 2006, forcing him to undergo elbow surgery.

 

The only other blight on his career so far was when Pakistan cricket chiefs banned him for one Test in 2005 for throwing a domestic game in protest after his team was penalised for a slow over rate in another match.

 

Malik later apologised.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)