Younis reluctant to lead in Bangalore

With Shoaib Malik ruled out because of injury, and Younis Khan - according to unconfirmed reports - reluctant to lead the side, uncertainty surrounds the identity of Pakistan's captain for the third Test against India, due to begin from Saturday in Bangalore. Younis, the official vice-captain, who stood in for the injured Malik for the Kolkata Test, was expected to continue in Bangalore, as Malik's ankle has yet to heal.

A final decision, it is understood, has not been made yet and officials from the team management have denied the reports to Cricinfo.

Speculation surrounding the development suggests that Younis is unhappy about a number of issues. Mostly they are concerned with the ambit of his influence as stand-in leader, but also including the fact that Malik addressed the pre-match press conference in Kolkata despite knowing he was unavailable for the Test.

Then, halfway through the Test Younis dissociated himself strongly and publicly from the team management's selection decisions - including the one to play a plainly unwell Shoaib Akhtar - in a column he wrote for Hindustan Times.

Finally, there are also suggestions that the call-up of Rao Iftikhar Anjum as a replacement for the injured Umar Gul is also an issue. Younis reportedly, in consultation with Salahuddin Ahmed, the chairman of selectors, asked for Abdur Rauf to join the team and for Sarfraz Ahmed, the reserve wicketkeeper, to be sent back.

But, after some confusion, Anjum was eventually sent, instead of Rauf, a decision that left Younis displeased. Younis left training recently in Bangalore, citing a stomach ailment, but sources reveal he had all but decided not to lead the team by this stage. By then the Pakistan team management was making all efforts to convince Younis to lead the team in the final Test.

Mohammad Yousuf has also been sounded out should Younis not agree, but he has also apparently shown reluctance for the task. The other candidates, by default, are experienced players such as Shoaib and Kamran Akmal, though the name of Misbah-ul-Haq has also been mentioned. Top board officials, including Shafqat Naghmi, the chief operating officer, were unreachable for comment late on Thursday night, though PTI said that he was in Bangalore, alongside the management trying to convince Younis to do the job.

Two officials, however, denied any truth in the reports. One told Cricinfo that he had just spoken to Younis and there was nothing to the speculation. "There is nothing in these rumours. I have spoken to him and he is willing to lead the side." The team's spokesperson, Ahsan Malik, also rejected the reports.

Captaincy and Younis have rarely made for comfortable bedfellows, which perhaps adds credence to the speculation. Though he was the official - and popular - vice-captain for two years under Inzamam-ul-Haq, he suprisingly turned down the post once Inzamam resigned after the World Cup earlier this year. Though his motives for doing so were never quite clear, he said at the time it was from the mental strain of a traumatic World Cup.

Last year in October, when Inzamam was banned for four ODIs, Younis was made captain for the Champions Trophy. He resigned from the position at a press conference days before the team left, apparently upset over a number of issues, one of which was the non-selection of a player he was keen to take. Two days later, he was reinstated as captain as Nasim Ashraf replaced Shaharyar Khan as chairman of the board.

He had taken up the vice-captaincy for this tour with reluctance and only after Ashraf had personally asked him to in the absence of any credible candidate. Ultimately it means that Pakistan's preparations once again are precisely as they were in Kolkata: far from ideal.