These men of contrasting personalities, intellects, and motivational powers, do generally have one aspect in common: their place in the team is unquestioned. A rare captain has the wisdom to be an inspiring leader without matching the cricketing skills of his men. Mike Brearley is the most obvious example.

Now Shoaib Malik is no Mike Brearley, which would be his only ticket out of this mess. The agony and the misery of his captaincy term needs to be put to an end. Pakistan cricket needs to be forged anew with strong leadership. It will be a rocky road to a stable, consistently successful team. At the very least, Pakistan’s play requires great heart and consummate passion. It may be time for everybody to draw a line under the past and give Younis Khan the job he has already twice rejected. If Younis doesn’t want all the responsibility, the PCB could indulge Shahid Afridi’s captaincy dreams in cricket’s shortest form. Unconventional times require unpredictable solutions.

Published with the permission of Dr Kamran Abbasi. Also posted at cricinfo.com