Malik losing popularity in team: sources

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik is losing his popularity in the side as, of late, he has distanced himself from senior players and started taking unilateral decisions, sources in the team said on Monday.

The sources, who did not want to be identified, told that Malik had stopped consulting senior players and was taking most of the decisions himself.
   
"He is only close to manager Talat Ali whom he consults about everything," a source said.

Malik was named captain last year after the World Cup despite the presence of senior players like Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar.
   
The young captain has come under fire for his uninspiring captaincy and his own form after Pakistan lost the one-day series to India and also the first Test in New Delhi on Monday.
   
Malik, however, has been retained as captain until the end of 2008 by the Pakistan Cricket Board but experts point out that nothing is permanent in Pakistan cricket.
   
"In the past, more notable players like Javed Miandad, Moin Khan and Rashid Latif were given long-term assignments but were sacked in the middle of their tenures after a couple of poor performances," a former Test player noted.
   
A source in the team disclosed that when Malik first became captain, he used to consult and seek advice from his senior players.
   
"He used to take the entire team along with him in all decisions and had created a good atmosphere in the dressing room. But of late he has changed. He is now more individualistic and aloof and hardly consults the seniors," the source said.