Comment: Shoaib Malik’s enthusiasm will see him through

The worst kept secret in Pakistan cricket was made public this week when Shoaib Malik was confirmed as captain. Malik has always looked captaincy material, a smart head on slender shoulders, but he will need to be careful that this case of premature elevation does not end in an embarrassing mess.

International captaincy is a million miles from domestic Twenty20 cricket - and Malik has already had his problems there. But apart from the controversy over a game that Sialkot deliberately lost, and Malik was punished for, his domestic captaincy has been received favourably. His challenge is to quickly rise to the rigours of international cricket, lifting his team with him.

The PCB, which has had a miserable time under Dr Nasim Ashraf, has made a brave and sensible decision to gamble on youth. Inzamam-ul Haq could not have continued after the defeat to Ireland regardless of the horrific complication of Bob Woolmer's murder. But it was Younis Khan's whim to spurn the captaincy he had been groomed for that created an opportunity and an unstoppable momentum for drastic change.

A young captain is a needy soul. He requires full support from his cricket board, which might mean showing dissenting players that they accept Malik's leadership or they will have to accept an exit from the national team. He requires time. Thankfully, the PCB has abandoned the nonsense of captaincy on a series-by-series basis. A captain can be sacked at any time. The series-by-series approach is an irrelevance, and only undermines a captain's authority and allows the ambitions of rivals to gather momentum. Malik must have time to grow into the captaincy, develop his own leadership style.

He requires a mandate for change. The longer you are in post the harder it becomes to change. The first hundred days of Malik's captaincy need to be the most meaningful. Thinking that you have four years to implement change (between now and the next World Cup) is a strategy destined for failure.

Where that change should focus isn't rocket science. On the domestic front, a meaningful and competitive first-class structure is essential for long-term development. The National Academy must become a proper nursery for talent. And any hint of favouritism or regionalism must be expelled from the system.

With the team itself, Malik and his selection committee must decide who they believe to be the best opening batsmen in Pakistan and develop a permanent pairing. The middle-order requires new blood. Now would be the time to back a rookie like Shahid Yousuf or Fawad Alam, perhaps both. The future is now.

The final change has to be a clean break for Kamran Akmal, whose form has been too dismal for too long. A period away from international cricket and seeing his place taken by a rival will be incentive enough.

The one area where Pakistan cricket has least to worry about is the bowling. Umar Gul will soon be rejoined by Mohammad Asif, and possibly Shoaib Akhtar, to form a formidable fast-bowling attack, with Mohammad Sami and others in the wings. Danish Kaneria may finally fly under a new captain and new thinking. And Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, and Malik himself remain valuable support, particularly in the one-day game.

Malik also has his own position to worry about. He has proclaimed his support of specialists but he isn't exactly a specialist himself, although it is a relief to have an athletic captain. Since his elbow operation, Malik's batting is now clearly his strongest suit. He has already shown the necessary aptitude for a top-order batsman in both forms of cricket.

He will want to work on his plodding footwork, however, which has exposed his technique in conditions favourable to bowlers.

Importantly, Malik has begun his rule with the right attitude. He wants to be an attacking captain, a mode that is most effective for Pakistani teams. He wants specialists. He wants to work with senior players. He wants to return Pakistan cricket to winning ways. Sensible words.

But talk is cheap and Shoaib Malik's captaincy will be judged by results and attitude. More than anything, he has to return fighting spirit and professionalism to Pakistan cricket. On a personal level, he has to be his own man. Better to fall by your own decisions than somebody else's. Better to die with a hero's cry than a coward's whimper. Better still to return some joy, passion, and success to the pitiful state of Pakistan cricket.