Malik will mature and improve as captain: Coach Alam

Shoaib Malik as captain for another year as he has improved a lot as leader, coach Intikhab Alam said on Friday.

Malik's captaincy tenure ends on December 31 after which the board's governing council would meet in the first week of January to review his performance and decide whether to retain him or appoint another captain.

Malik was made captain after then skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq retired following the World Cup debacle last year and Younis Khan refusing to accept the leadership role.

The board ignored senior players like Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar while appointing Malik as captain and this has led to an uneasy relationship between him and senior players for the last some months.

But Intikhab said Malik had changed his attitude a great deal and had started showing qualities of a good leader.

"His attitude has changed now. He is cooperative and friendly and communicating well with everyone in the team. I don't think it would be a good idea to change him at this stage. It will not help Pakistan cricket," Intikhab said.

He pointed out that Malik had not only shown good leadership skills recently in Abu Dhabi in the ODI series against the West Indies but has also performed well as captain in domestic cricket.

"The fact that he has led the Sialkot team to domestic Twenty20 title and then the Punjab team to the Pentangular One-day title shows he has improved as a captain and is getting to be a better tactician. The board should continue with him as he will only improve further," the coach said.

"We need continuity. Inzamam was captain for more than three years and results were good. Malik is a good bet for the future. He will mature and improve as captain."