November 09, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 27, 1428

LAHORE, Nov 8: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to propose the name of Shoaib Malik in the maiden meeting of its Governing Board to retain the all-rounder for the captain’s post for another year.

Malik, who replaced Inzamam-ul-Haq following Pakistan’s dismal campaign at the World Cup 2007 last March, led the national side to an ODI series victory over Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi soon afterwards.

His leadership skills blossomed during the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September where Pakistan surprised superior outfits including the Aussies to make the final against India.

Since then, however, Malik faired ordinarily as skipper in the Test and one-day home series against South Africa and is currently leading the side on a demanding tour of India.

Though the captaincy issue is not on the agenda of the Governing Board meeting, PCB chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf is keen to get the approval for the new captain in Friday’s meeting.

Talking to reporters on Thursday after signing a sponsorship deal with an international bank for domestic cricket, the chairman said the board would announce the new captain after discussing all aspects.

“The PCB has decided to appoint the captain for the next year and as Shoaib is finishing his first term in December, it is the time to decide about the captain with the consent of the Governing Board,” he said.

The chairman was of the view that by appointing captain on an yearly basis, the board could judge the leadership abilities of a person in a proper way.

Meanwhile, Dr Ashraf vowed that Pakistan Premier League (PPL) would start next year and every team would be allowed to have four foreign players. He said in all six teams would take part in the league and besides having four foreign players, the teams would be bound to include as many players of Under-21 age group.

He added that the PCB felt disappointed over the decision of the ICC to postpone the Women’s World Cup qualifiers on security grounds which were to be held here from Nov 17.

“Our high profile cricket activities ahead include the tours by Zimbabwe and Australia next year and the PCB will provide top security to the visiting teams,” he said.

Later, the chairman signed a sponsorship deal worth Rs 22 million with a prominent bank. The amount is just 20 per cent of the total expenditure the board is spending on domestic cricket.

According to the deal, the first class matches would get 60 days live coverage on TV.

The PCB chief said 300 grounds were being upgraded to hold first class matches.