There will not be much mourning at the end of Shoaib Malik's undistinguished spell as captain. He did not exactly set the world on fire; in fact he failed to light even a match-stick. He was a weak leader, cautious and insipid but nevertheless it would be wrong to heap a thousand sins on him, as if nobody else has put a foot wrong.

There will not be much mourning at the end of Shoaib Malik's undistinguished spell as captain. He did not exactly set the world on fire; in fact he failed to light even a match-stick. He was a weak leader, cautious and insipid but nevertheless it would be wrong to heap a thousand sins on him, as if nobody else has put a foot wrong.

Following the dismal World Cup of 2007 and after Younis Khan declined the offer to captain Pakistan, the PCB turned to Shoaib Malik as Inzamam-ul-Haq’s replacement.

Inzamam’s style of captaincy worked well for a period of time, after the 2003 World Cup, when there were a lot of young players and plenty of insecurity. He was a father figure for the team. But there was a shelf-life to this style of leadership.

In his autobiography, Mushtaq Ahmed states that under Inzamam’s leadership, there was culture of forgiveness in the team. But there does come a time when the boys have to become men and a captain has to demand more from his players rather than merely accepting errors.

Under Inzamam average performances had become too easily accepted. Players’ began to merely coast along. A more passionate, ambitious leader, who would urge players to be honest with themselves was required.

Shoaib Malik failed the test. Excuses remained abundant and average performances continued to be tolerated. There was also the damaging suggestion that Kamran Akmal’s place remained assured owing to them being friends.

However he was also hampered by bruised egos. Senior players were annoyed that they had been overlooked for the captaincy.

Muhammad Yousuf let the ‘cat out of the bag’ when he stated "I was the senior most player and deserved a shot at the captaincy."

In Pakistan as soon as a player achieves a degree of seniority he expects that this signals privileged status. There is also an expectation that junior members will display deference towards senior players. Seniority and merit become intertwined and confused.

This is of course not a new phenomenon. Mushtaq Ahmed wrote in his autobiography that in 1992 the senior players introduced a “Celeb system” whereby they took the “lion’s share” of the money during the successful England tour. Younger players were left gnashing their teeth at what they saw as an unjust division of money.

Although a somewhat enigmatic figure, Younis Khan as a more senior and established player may stand more chance of earning the respect of his players.

What he must demand is an end to excuses for poor performances. Blaming coaches, pitches, one player or kismet will not do. Only honest self-reflection from everyone will lead to betterment.

Younis Khan must also demonstrate a more adventurous style than his predecessors, not only on the field, but in selections. One of major problems in the last few years has been conservative selections and the inability of the selection panel to take tough decisions.

The consistently average performances against decent opposition and the tame surrender in the last One Day International should act as a jolt for the need to become more ruthless with regard to the prolonged poor form of some ‘established’ players and more adventurous with regard to the selection of younger players.

Some younger players – keen to prove their credentials – may invigorate and uplift a team that has looked stale.

Brave decisions, strong leadership and the restoration of a sense of adventure will help revive Pakistan cricket during a dispiriting phase. But above all there is a need for honesty. In this spirit, the players, administrators and selectors may acknowledge that whilst Malik was a failure as captain and partly responsible for the poor performances, they aided and abetted.