Younis Khan has been appointed captain of Pakistan after Shoaib Malik’s 21-month reign was ended by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday because of poor results.

Younis has long been seen as the natural leader of the team, which has attracted too many headlines for the wrong reasons in recent years, and his disciplined manner, it is hoped, will galvanise Pakistan back into a feared unit once again.

Malik’s destiny was as good as sealed after the team crashed to their record dfeat by runs against Sri Lanka last week when they were bowled out for just 75 chasing 310. A hue and cry ensued and the PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt was under pressure to act.

“We asked Shoaib Malik to step down as captain. He agreed and only then did we appoint Younis Khan as captain of Pakistan,” Butt told reporters at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

“We have taken the step because our performances weren't great. The end result is not just winning but the performance. We didn't just lose to Sri Lanka, we performed poorly. So we have made Younis Khan the captain of both Test and ODI sides.”

Younis has been playing for South Australia since October and he told his Bigstarcricket diary earlier on Tuesday, before he was asked to take the job, that the experience had helped improve him as a player because of the added professionalism in Australia.