Malik denies interest in Pakistan captaincy

Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's Twenty20 captain for the two games against England, has said he has no interest in leading the side and would prefer to play and perform as a normal member of the side. Malik was made captain by the board following the banning of regular leader Shahid Afridi for two matches after he was found guilty of tampering the ball during an ODI in Australia.

But in a meeting with chairman PCB Ijaz Butt on Thursday, Malik apparently made a request to not be captain for both games and allow Afridi to take the reins for the second game when his ban ends. "I have no interest in the captaincy of Pakistan," Malik told reporters in Lahore. "I just want to play and play well, do well and help Pakistan win matches. I met the chairman yesterday and the meeting went well."

Malik was captain of Pakistan in all three formats till February last year, when he was removed following an ODI series defeat to Sri Lanka. A report by the management and coach of the time found him to be "aloof" and a "loner" and unfit to lead Pakistan.

Since then Malik has been a peripheral figure in the side, often hitting solid form but being dropped readily for low scores. He was in and out of the side through the long tours to New Zealand and Australia. But he has been at the centre of a steady string of hints and allegations from two subsequent captains for being a disruptive influence on the side.

First Younis Khan, who stepped down from the post following an ODI series loss to New Zealand last November, said he had lost control over his players; Malik's name cropped up regularly at the time from a number of people within the team set-up as being one of those at the front of Younis' complaints.

Then, after the tour to Australia, Mohammad Yousuf, who took over from Younis, pinpointed the role of one person in disrupting unity within the team through the tour. Though no name was taken, it was widely speculated that he was referring to Malik, with whom he has had an icy relationship from the time he was dropped from the World Twenty20 squad in 2007 when Malik was captain.

Malik seemed to confirm that he was the target of Yousuf's ire by responding to those very allegations and launching his own attack, again without naming Yousuf. He said he wants to speak to the inquiry committee looking into the reasons behind Pakistan's disastrous Australian tour. The six-man committee, headed by Wasim Bari, the board COO, began work today by interviewing Shahid Afridi and the team manager Abdur Raqueeb.

"I requested the chairman to let me have my say in front of the inquiry committee," Malik said. "I want to ask you guys one thing. If you compare the spirit in the first seven matches on the Australian tour to the spirit you saw in the last two matches, what was the difference? Wasn't it a totally different side? And who wasn't playing in those last two games?" Yousuf missed the last ODI in Perth and isn't a part of Pakistan's T20I squad.

Malik took a further dig at Yousuf's leadership, saying he would've attacked more during the fateful final day of the Sydney Test. Yousuf was widely criticised for the defensive fields he set when Michael Hussey and Peter Siddle added 123 runs for the ninth wicket, allowing Australia to set Pakistan 176 for victory, having been effectively 80 for 8 when the fourth day began.

"I think we should've attacked more at Siddle and Hussey. We didn't and that is why we lost. We need to stop making excuses about why we lost and just go out on to the field and perform and give our full effort. I don't believe in making excuses, I believe only in giving my best efforts on the field. I don't need to justify myself, I just try and do that on the ground with my performances."