Settling down Malik

From every encounter something must be drawn. On the surface Pakistan's assignments this year have been a doddle. They blanked Zimbabwe and if the first ODI is any indication, are likely to do the same to Bangladesh in the coming week. But Pakistan knows better than any country that any cricket is better than no cricket at all.

"Playing cricket, against any side, is better than not playing any at all," Shoaib Malik, Pakistan captain, said ahead of the second ODI at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. "Every type of match, every series is important for us."

It is more than just obligatory captain-speak. In nine days time, Malik will mark his first year as captain. It has been a strange time, in which Malik has not really settled as leader and neither has his side under him. A lack of international cricket and staggered schedule hasn't helped: Malik has captained in 19 ODIs since his appointment, while MS Dhoni, who became ODI leader a fair few months after, has already led his country in 22 ODIs. And meek, indifferent and unsure performances under him haven't helped, so it cannot be said yet that this is Malik's team, as it can be perhaps of Dhoni and India's ODI side.

Precisely for this reason, this series and the preceding one against Zimbabwe hold some value. Even more than giving fresh players exposure, they give Malik an opportunity to settle down and decide on what kind of side he wants, what kind of cricket he wants them to play, what kind of plans he wants them to execute and what kind of attitude he wants them to take on the field. On the surface, they are pointless, calendar-fillers but these two series allow Malik to get comfortable and that, in the mid-term, is of undeniable importance.

Nine players were introduced against Zimbabwe and should Pakistan wrap this series up with two games to go, a few more will be inducted. "We have tried a number of experiments and ideas in the last few matches," Malik said. "We have two important tournaments coming up in the Asia Cup and Champions Trophy and before that there is the tri-series in Bangladesh as well so this contest is good for that.".

An idea of the type of side he wants, Malik said, is settling in his head now, though there are still kinks to smooth out. One is the number of bowling options available to him and it is something they have been mulling over since the tour to India last year.

"We have played mostly with five bowlers which includes two allrounders," Malik said. "One thing I've seen over that time is that we might need a sixth bowling option, maybe at the expense of a batsman. On fast tracks maybe we can utilise a fast bowler and on spinning ones, someone like Fawad Alam."

It is an option that is being given serious thought and there would be no better time to try it than now. There are drawbacks to it, however, and Malik admitted any such move might push wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal up to open. "If we do get another bowler, then Kamran can move up to open and that would also help us in giving us a right-left combination at the top of the innings."

Malik insists before every match that winning the next game is the only priority, doing so here as well. Quite right too, but he also knows that through the last six games and over the next four, grander schemes are being hatched, plans that will make or break his captaincy. To that end, Bangladesh might as well be Timbuktu, but something will be drawn from it.