Malik lacks Dhoni-style leadership qualities: Yousuf

AHMEDABAD: Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s out-of-the-box thinking has earned him another admirer in banned batsman Mohammad Yousuf who feels Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik lacks the leadership qualities of the Indian skipper.
Disappointed with the shabby treatment meted to him by Pakistan Cricket Board and especially by skipper Malik, Yousuf, one of the finest middle-order batsmen, rejoined the ICL earlier this month.
Although he still nurtures the desire of donning the national colours, Yousuf said he was left with no option but to join the ICL by the PCB and Malik.
‘There is no point in playing for a team when your captain is not supportive and doesn’t want you. A captain has to lead by example with his performance like Dhoni.’
‘He should have man-management skills while dealing with seniors, but Malik lacks those qualities,’ Yousuf said.
The 2007 Wisden Cricketer of the Year also held former Chairman Nasim Ashraf-led PCB regime responsible for the slump of the game in Pakistan. ‘The earlier PCB regime did little for the development of the game in the country, but the new set up is desperate to bring about a change.’
Yousuf, who has made 6,770 Test and 9,242 ODI runs till date, also lambasted the previous selection committee and cried foul over all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and his exclusion from the national side.
‘There are a few players in the ICL Pakistan team like Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Abdul Razzaq and myself who can represent the national side at any time. I was shocked by Razzaq’s exclusion from the Twenty20 side.’
‘He has great potential. To add to that, even after a series of good performance, the selectors dropped me from the team and that was not acceptable to me,’ he said.
He also lauded the new PCB regime under Ijaz Butt for appointing former Test captain Javed Miandad as director general of the board.
‘Javed bhai was a great batsman and he is the perfect person for the job. Only he can bring Pakistan team back on track.’
The prolific run-machine was in full praise for his present employer, ICL.
‘It is not fair to ban ICL players from playing for their national team. The league is only helping youngsters hone their skills and prepare themselves for the bigger platform,’ Yousuf said.