November 18, 2007	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 07, 1428

The boyish smile has often hidden a fierce determination in the young man. His shyness disguises boldness in pursuit of what he thinks is the right thing to do. But ever since being made the Pakistan captain, Shoaib Malik has drawn more questions of his leadership abilities than demonstrated answers. The jury is out. Was he the best choice?

Leadership style depends on personality. There are leaders who lead from the front and those who inspire from the side, or even behind. What is Shoaib Malik’s style? If we look at the fact that he hasn’t bowled himself that much, especially in limited over matches, it seems he is shying away from responsibility. In the fourth one-dayer, there were those who felt that he should have come on when Yuvraj was batting, the off-spinner to the left hander, the proverbial better bet.

But then it balances off when we see him step up to opening the innings when not getting runs. Clearly, there he put the team needs before him. He had Imran Nazir and Yasir Hameed but that meant going in with a bowler short. So he exposed himself.

It was not the first time. Against South Africa on the last afternoon of the second and final Test with Pakistan in danger of losing, he walked out ahead of Misbah-ul-Haq, knowing full well he would have to face the wrath of the new ball. He is not comfortable against the rising ball and the South Africans knew that. But he was aware that Misbah was short on confidence after three unconvincing batting displays and another failure from him would have dented his self belief for the coming one day series.

Malik batted well to save that Test match for his team. It would not be the last time he raised his hand for the team cause. We saw in the one day games that he came up when the run rate was back peddling and there were a couple of times when he upped the ante with his superb hitting.

In those outings you could see that despite the fall of a couple of wickets he was not afraid to step out and hit balls for sixes simply because the run rate had to be increased. Had he been stumped he would have been branded as careless. But he took that chance.

Where he lacks at the moment is in creativity, and that was opined by Mushtaq Mohammad as we discussed the finer points of the young captain. Mush, a master of tactical maneuvers when he successfully led Pakistan in the mid 1970s, felt that there were times in the Test matches when Malik should have brought in a short cover or silly mid on to someone like Smith, just to urge them to hit out and take risks on flat pitches.

He also needs to be a bit more ‘physical’ in the field. A captain needs to be seen as much as heard. What he lacks physically he must make up in man management. That does not mean gesturing to fielder after every ball or doing a pantomime like Javed Miandad. But something like a Younis Khan and displaying more energy in raising the adrenalin of his team mates, especially the older ones.

There have been questions raised about his analytical skills. He really should have fielded first in the previous one-dayer in Gwalior given that it was an afternoon start and dew was in the air the evening before. But it is difficult to believe that it was not a team decision. Decisions at toss up time usually are.

Some media men are forgetting that Indians gave away only two wides and not a single no ball. On an average, the extras contribute about 15-20 runs. This implies an extra two overs that would have contributed another 10 runs at least. That would have lifted Pakistan to between 280-285. And don’t forget Sachin played perhaps the innings of his modern life. Had Malik chosen to field and lost he could have been accused of disregarding history wherein the last 3 one dayers at Captain Roop Singh Stadium had been won by the side batting first.

I think Malik is also wary of the eyes on him. He does not have the physique and dominant personality of say an Imran or Wasim which can crush mistakes made on the field. He will have to win respect simply by example, in his tactical moves, support for his players both on and off the field, more focus in press conferences and confidence in his body language. At the moment he is drifting through the captaincy role rather than steering himself.

I believe he is intelligent, reads the game well, is brave and stands up for younger players. He managed to get the best out of his players in the World Twenty20, inclusive of the debutant Sohail Tanvir. He is innately aggressive in that he fought for Salman Butt for this Indian tour and you will normally find a first slip in place whenever a new batsman comes in.

Malik’s record so far does not read like a bestseller but a 2-3 loss to South Africa in the ODI series could easily have been the other way round had not the madness bug bit his lower order. And he lost the first Test when he went in with only four specialist bowlers and was betrayed by his fielders. Kaneria did not bowl as well as he should have and it was his batsmen who let the team down in the first innings.

I think we need to step back and give him a chance. I agree with the PCB’s choice of extending his tenure. He is our best shot at captaincy at the moment and has enough experience. He needs support from his coaching staff in that if he gets his players fit and the fielding up to the mark, the rest he will improve himself as he gets on with life as a leader.