Pakistan will announce a captain for the World Twenty20 in the next couple
of days, as speculation grows over the identity of the man in the wake of
meetings the board chairman Ijaz Butt is said to have had with a number of
players.
On Friday, the selection committee had taken the unusual step of naming a
15-man
squad for the defense of the world title without appointing a captain, and over the weekend Butt is reported to have met four candidates: Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Salman Butt.
The vacancy has arisen out of circumstance: Afridi was meant to be
Pakistan's captain in the format but the
ball-biting incident in
Perth has seen question marks appear over his role. He was banned by the
ICC for two games and has also recently been fined heavily by the board.
Though some in the hierarchy are keen to have him resume the role, there
is said to be opposition after the Perth incident.
Shoaib Malik, who took over for two Twenty internationals in Afridi's absence and has led the side in all three formats, including a run to the World Twenty20 final
in 2007, would've been in the running but he is now out of international
cricket for at least a year following a
PCB-imposed ban.
That leaves few options in the current squad, increasing the chances of,
in particular, Misbah and Razzaq, whose experience will help them. Butt is
said to have held one-on-one meetings with the candidates, though he
refused to comment on them.
"In the next few days we will name a captain for the World Twenty20 but
beyond that I will not say anything," Butt told Cricinfo.
There has been speculation over the board wanting to unify the leadership
for all formats. Butt, however, seemed to play that down for now. "We are
only naming a captain for this format and tournament right now and nothing
else," he said.
Pakistan's next Test and ODI assignment isn't until this summer when they
head to England to play six Tests against Australia and the hosts, as well
as a series of ODIs. Though they will be in no rush to name a
captain for the other formats, it will be a tricky decision given that
their previous two Test and ODI captains, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf,
are both banned for indefinite periods.
Troubles with the leadership began last year when Malik was removed after
a series loss to Sri Lanka amid mounting unrest over his leadership. Since
then, Younis has stepped down twice as captain, to be replaced by Yousuf,
whose own place is now in doubt. Afridi took over as Twenty20 captain when
Younis - having led the side to the title in June 2009 - retired from the format.
Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo