Speculation grows over Pakistan captain
Monday, 15 March 2010
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, according to website cricinfo.
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.
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.