maliks captaincy extended

A day after leading his team to a fantastic win over India in Mohali, Shoaib Malik has been rewarded by the Pakistan Cricket Board with a one-year extension as captain.

Malik was unanimously retained as captain a month before his first term was to be reviewed by the board.

The newly constituted governing body of the board approved the recommendation of chairman Nasim Ashraf that Malik be retained as captain until December 2008.

"Given the potential he has shown and the way he has taken the team along with him. He is improving day by day, and keeping in mind the future of the team he has been retained as captain for another year," Ashraf told reporters after the governing body meeting.

Malik, who is only 25 years old, has played 147 one-day internationals and 20 Tests for his country and was given this responsibility in April after Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down as captain after the World Cup.

The board has appointed senior batsman Younis Khan as vice-captain for the Indian tour after he had turned down the captaincy offer after the World Cup.

Ashraf said while the vice-captain would be named from series to series, Malik's appointment was for the sake of continuity and to give him an opportunity to plan ahead with coach Geoff Lawson.