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Severe criticism on the skipper-ship of Shoaib Malik after the ignominious defeat in India, and the lacklustre performance by the captain himself cannot be ruled out merely as a backlash of a grand defeat.

There is lots of substance present behind it, and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should look into the matter more closely, as its very crucial for the team and for the game prospects in the country. After the insulting departure of Inzamam-ul-Haq, PCB decided that enough is enough and the time had come to end the player power in the Pakistani outfit. In the presence of Younus Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, and Shoaib Akhtar, he was made captain to change the culture of the team.

Perhaps PCB tried to replicate the South African example in Pakistan. In March 2003, at the age of 22, Graeme Smith became South Africa’s youngest-ever captain, when he took over from Shaun Pollock following the disastrous World Cup campaign. He was made captain in the presence of many big names in South Africa. But he was selected due to some qualities, and it wasn’t just for the sake for introducing fresh blood at the top.

Greame Smith proved his mettle first in the test and ODI foramt and he was soon recognized as an formidable, arrogant and brave nut to crack. He took the brunt and he handled the pressure quite brilliantly. Whereas Shoaib Malik, the current young captain of Pakistan has been with the team since the days of yore, and its quite arguable to call him young. His performances before he became captain werent even spectacular and he hasn’t delivered much after becoming a captain,and to add more woes to the team, PCB has made him captain till December 2008.

PCB should appoint captain from series to series, and I will reiterate that PCB should find fresh talent for every position in the team on crash basis.