Pakistan awaiting another captain

Pakistan are now three cricket captains down, and yet to announce who will lead the side against Australia in Friday's Twenty20 international at the MCG.

Shahid Afridi's suspension for ball tampering has left the tourists without a leader for the last match of their tour, as Mohammad Yousuf has gone home and former skipper Younus Khan is no longer part of the squad.

Yousuf, who captained Pakistan in the three Tests and first four one-dayers, sat out Sunday's match because of knee troubles and is not part of the Twenty20 squad.

Younus played on Sunday but announced after last year's world championships he would no longer represent his country in the shortest version.

Team manager Abdul Raqeeb said Younus was still in Australia, but would not play on Friday.

Raqeeb was not sure when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would announce the new skipper, but said a decision would be made by "hopefully tomorrow".

"It's up to the PCB and we haven't heard anything from Pakistan," he said on Monday.

Allrounder Shoaib Malik and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal are among the candidates to take over the captaincy, but Pakistan's selection process has also been complicated by the resignation of chief selector Iqbal Qasim.

Iqbal stood down after Pakistan were white-washed by Australia in the three-match Test series and five-game one-day series.

Malik captained Pakistan in 2007, while Kamran was Yousuf's vice-captain in the Test series until he was dropped after his poor performance in the second Test in Sydney.

Media in Pakistan reported Yousuf did not play on Sunday because of a disagreement with team management over team selection.

Yousuf took over the captaincy after Younus stood down from the position late last year, when he claimed he no longer had command of the team.