Shoaib Malik says that comparison between MS Dhoni and Misbah-ul-Haq as captains is unfair

Shoaib Malik was the man-of-the-match in the CPL T20 final

Both MS Dhoni and Misbah-ul-Haq have come under fire for their teams’ respective Test series losses to England and Sri Lanka, with people remarking that both need to be gotten rid of as they are extremely defensive in their approach, but Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has said that comparisons between the two are unfair.

Misbah needs to stay on until the 2015 World Cup

"Every captain has a bad series but I would not compare these two at all. There is no comparison because Dhoni has won every major ICC title which Misbah has not done," he said speaking on a Pakistani talk show.

Malik also backed Misbah’s captaincy, and hopes that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) give assurances to Misbah that he will be captain for next year’s 50-over World Cup in order to avoid any uncertainty around Pakistan’s preparations for the 50-over event.

"They need to identify from now who should lead the team in the World Cup including Misbah. A decision has to be taken now and this will also give the chosen captain a lot of confidence and boost," he said.

Successful CPL campaign

Malik, who was dropped after Pakistan’s disappointing World T20 campaign in Bangladesh, went on to add that he is determined to make a comeback into the national team in time for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in February-March. He has recently been in good touch, helping Barbados Tridents win the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20, scoring 55* in the final.

"What I say is whoever the selectors have in mind for the World Cup they should decide now and form a combination from now because they need to prepare now for this mega event which is not going to be easy. We need to have consistency in the team selection leading up to the World Cup because that is how we will be able to form a strong combination," the 32-year-old said.

Asked about the reason for his success in the CPL T20, he hinted that having a settled position in the batting order helped a huge amount, indicating that he does not enjoy the same stability when playing for Pakistan.

"I am not blaming anyone but perhaps I think when I play for Pakistan my batting position or role in the team is not made clear to me," he concluded.