Source: International Herald Tribune

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Younis Khan replaced Shoaib Malik as Pakistan captain on Tuesday in the wake of the team’s heaviest one-day international defeat.

Malik was appointed captain for an indefinite period earlier this month, but the Pakistan Cricket Board had been under pressure since Sri Lanka inflicted Pakistan’s heaviest ever limited-overs defeat — by 234 runs — to win the series 2-1 in Lahore on Saturday.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt met with coach Intikhab Alam and manager Yawar Saeed in Lahore on Tuesday in a bid to find reasons for that defeat and also Pakistan’s 129-run loss in the second match.

“We have not sacked him but relieved him from the captaincy,” Butt said of Malik. “We lost badly against Sri Lanka and some changes has to be made. Younis Khan will be the captain for both test matches and one-day internationals.”

Khan’s first assignment will be the two-test home series against Sri Lanka next month.

Khan attended Tuesday’s meeting with PCB officials while he was playing a domestic first-class match at Gaddafi Stadium. The 31-year-old batsman is the most experienced Pakistan cricketer, with 4,816 runs in 58 tests and 5,306 runs in 181 one-day games.

Khan had earlier turned down an offer to captain the side after Pakistan’s humiliating first-round exit from the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. Malik was then made captain until last December after which his contract was extended for an indefinite period.

Khan led Pakistan in the 2006 Champions Trophy in India as then captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was under a suspension from the International Cricket Council. Pakistan didn’t progress beyond the first round.

Pakistan lawmakers have also taken note of the team’s poor performances against Sri Lanka, with the Senate’s Standing Committee on Sports summoning Alam, Malik and chief selector Abdul Qadir to appear before it on Feb. 9 to explain the series loss.

“The performance (of the team) is just going down and we are really worried,” senator Enver Baig said. “We can’t see any team management and we fear that there’s no unity among the players.”

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Tags: Captain, Ijaz Butt, PCB, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan