KARACHI, Feb 22: Former players rallied round Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Wednesday despite his side’s woeful showing in the 4-0 One-day International series mauling by England.

Pakistan failed to carry the momentum of their 3-0 Test whitewash of England in the UAE into the ODIs, losing all four games to suggest they will be vulnerable to their resurgent rivals in the Twenty20 series starting in Dubai on Thursday.

The sudden slump in form prompted former captain Imran Khan to bemoan a lack of depth in Pakistan’s squad.

“England lifted themselves after the Test series defeat while Pakistan failed to carry on the good work,” Imran told reporters. “We lacked depth in bowling and batting and that helped England win all the [ODI] matches.”

However, interestingly the legendary all-rounder backed captain Misbah to continue as skipper in the shorter format of the game, having already led a remarkable revival of the Test side.

“Misbah needs to show more aggression but it’s early to write him off,” said Imran, who led Pakistan to their only ODI World Cup win in 1992. “Misbah must bat up the order to get good totals.”

Imran rejected the suggestion the side would be better served by separate captains for the three forms of the game.

“If one captain is doing well in all three forms of the game then there is no use having separate captains,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, former Test left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim also backed Misbah, urging critics to give him time to turn around the side’s one-day fortunes.

“He [Misbah] has committed some mistakes but we should back him,” Iqbal said, adding that the team appeared to relax in the ODI series after their Test series triumph.

“There was lack of consistency in the selection, sometimes they played with four spinners and just one seamer which affected their performance,” Iqbal, a former chief selector, noted.

Iqbal insisted that Pakistan must chose specialists for Tests and limited-overs games.

“Like other teams we should also designate some players for Tests, some for ODIs and some for Twenty20s because this has proved beneficial for other teams,” said Iqbal.

He urged the Pakistan team management to use all the young talent available at their disposal for the three-match Twenty20 series against England.

Other top Test cricketers have called upon the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its selection committee for forming different squads for Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s.

“Pakistan’s 4-0 whitewash against England in the ODI series was the reason of poor selection,” former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said on Wednesday.

“Not every senior can be accommodated in all brands of cricket. The selectors should adopt a rotation policy for Test, ODI and T20 teams,” the ex-Test wicket-keeper stressed.

Rashid, who played 37 Tests and 166 ODIs for Pakistan, blamed some senior players, who are trying to force their way into all forms of cricket to cause the trouble.

“After remarkably whitewashing English in the Test series, a 0-4 result in the ODIs is shameful for Pakistan,” he said.

“The selectors must learn from their mistakes in picking the team on the basis of Test performances. They shouldn’t have carried away by the historic 3-0 Test series win,” Rashid said.

“Pakistan team needed young blood in ODIs and T20s and a great deal of motivation.”

Former Test batsman Basit Ali said he had been asking for different combinations for different formats. “However, my calls have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.

Basit insisted that a more aggressive approach was needed from Misbah after Pakistan’s great triumph in the England Test rubber.

“We failed to capitalise on our Test glory in ODI series which was astounding and surprising,” he pointed out.

“If the selectors do not devise [appropriate] plans for different brands of cricket it will trouble Pakistan cricket,” Basit cautioned.—Agencies