Younus Khan welcomed as new captain

Former Pakistan Test cricketers have welcomed the decision to make Younus Khan the skipper of the national Test and one day international team.

The Pakistan Cricket Board removed Shoaib Malik from the captaincy in the wake of series-losing finale at Lahore and named Khan as the new skipper for an indefinite period.

Pakistan crashed to 75 all-out at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday - its fourth lowest-ever total in ODI - after Sri Lanka scored 309-5.

"The team's performance was not quite up to the mark - especially in the last match - and the cricket board has made the right decision by giving the reigns of captaincy to Younus Khan," Abbas said.

"He (Khan) is the senior-most player in the side and hopefully he will take along the team as a unit."

Malik captained in 36 limited-overs games after being appointed at a time of crisis in Pakistan cricket following the first-round exit from the 2007 World Cup. He won 24 ODIs and lost 12.

However, most of his victories came against lowly-ranked Zimbabwe and Bangladesh as Pakistan faltered against good teams like South Africa, India and now against Sri Lanka.

Pakistan, which did not play a single Test match last year, is scheduled to play two Tests against Sri Lanka next month and Abbas said he would like to see Malik retained as a player.

"We don't have many choices and Malik should be included in the team as an all-rounder," he said.

Former Pakistan paceman Sarfraz Nawaz raised question marks on Malik's fitness, but also felt he should be kept in the squad.

"He (Malik) didn't play two Test matches in India (in 2007) as he got unfit after Pakistan lost the first Test match," Nawaz said. "But if he is fully fit he should be the part of Test side."

Khan, who served as vice-captain under Inzamam-ul-Haq, has accepted the position, having previously refused to take up the role of captain in 2007 when Malik was named.

"I don't have a magic wand to turn things around," Khan was quoted as saying to the Daily Jang.

"If all the players give 100 per cent Pakistan could be number one team in the world."

Khan led Pakistan in the 2006 Champions Trophy in India in Inzamam’s absence but the team did not progress beyond the first round.

"Captaincy is always tough, I don't think you can be in a tougher situation than the 2006 Champions Trophy,” Younus said.