Shoaib Malik receives backing of Whatmore for post of T20 captain – Cricket News Update
Sources close to the Pakistan Cricket Board have confirmed that all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Davenell-Frederick-Whatmore-c52571.
“Malik impressed Whatmore who was present in Rawalpindi throughout the national super eights T20 championship with the way he led the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sialkot-c842 Stallions side to their seventh national T20 championship title,” the source confirmed.
The right-hander led his domestic side, the Sialkot Stallions, to victory in the recently wrapped up Faysal Bank Super Eight T-20 Cup. The final marked the peak of the team’s performance, as they restricted the Karachi http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dolphins-c781 to 167, mainly owing to Raza
Hasan’s 4-wicket haul, before Malik teamed up with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haris-Sohail-c61503 (55) and contributed a vital unbeaten 62 in order to propel his team to victory.
“It is too early to predict things but one thing is certain that before the team goes to Sri Lanka, the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board will announce a new captain for the T20 outfit and Malik is a frontrunner now after the backing of Whatmore,” the source added.
The captaincy of current skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 has been thrown into doubt after the team failed to win the limited-overs series against England earlier this year in UAE under his captaincy. In light of this, Malik may end up earning a recall with additional
responsibilities.
If it works out, this won’t be the 30-year-old’s first stint with captaincy. He served as skipper of the national side before, a run which ended badly. Nevertheless, it was also widely known that the late Pakistan coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Robert-Andrew-Woolmer-c85587 had previously backed
Malik for captaincy.
The Stallions’ skipper however, refused to discuss the possibility, saying he was focusing on maintaining his form in order to earn a recall into the team ahead of the World T20 scheduled for September this year in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758.
“For me right now it is a long battle to win back my place in the team as a senior player. My entire focus is on convincing the selectors and coach and captain I can play for Pakistan again,” Malik said, adding that the captaincy was a sensitive issue which
needed to be dealt with by the board.
He was included in the Pakistan team for the limited-overs series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 earlier this year as a last-minute addition on skipper Misbah’s request, but was excluded from the squad for the subsequent Asia Cup owing to poor performances.
However, the successful outings in the domestic tournament mark a return to form, and the cricketer may find himself returning to the T20 squad as more than just a senior player.
Tags: