ISLAMABAD: The fate of Shoaib Malik, one of the biggest failures for Pakistan so far, hangs in the balance as he might not be considered for the team’s remaining four matches in the World Cup.
A well-placed source accompanying the team told ‘The News’ that coaches Mickey Arthur and Grant Flower are upset at the way Malik has played in three of the matches so far.
“The coaching staff had told him clearly to show that he is the most experienced Pakistan batsman. Following a failure against England, Malik was asked to improve his performance and bring it at par with senior players of other teams. Sadly, Malik flopped in the next two matches as well, forcing the coaches to look for other options,” the source said.
In the three innings so far, Malik scored eight against England and ducks against Australia and India.
What worries the coaches most is the way Malik got out in the last two innings. On both occasions he was dismissed by in-coming deliveries.
“It was really upsetting for the coaches to see an experienced player like Malik getting out in the same pattern in two innings. If there is no injury to any other player, Malik will possibly sit out in the remaining games,” the source said.
Though there are a few days to go before Pakistan’s next match against South Africa (on Sunday), the coaches have started weighing their options to make the middle and lower middle order more strong.
“Haris Sohail, who has played just one match, is an available option and looks most likely to replace Malik.”
The source denied rumours of grouping in the team. “Everyone knows that Sarfaraz Ahmed was an automatic choice for captaincy. Grouping occurs when there are more than one candidates for captainship. Secondly, Sarfaraz has been leading the team for quite some time now and there’s never been any such problem in this time.”
When asked what the reasons for this poor show so far were, the source said majority of the players were not playing to their true potential. “That is the major reason. Some of the leading and most experienced players are not performing. I am hopeful that the team will stand up to the challenge and deliver to its potential,” he said.