Waqar Younis is reported to be considering stepping down from the captaincy of the Pakistan team after his country's failed World Cup campaign, well-placed sources say.

Pakistan, which needs a miracle in Tuesday's rain-marred match against Zimbabwe to sneak through to the Super Six, is now more or less out of the tournament.

And Younis, say the sources, has decided to relinquish the captaincy once the team returns to Pakistan, and not lead it to Sharjah in early-April.

Waqar's decision to bowl the slow bowlers against Australia, which allowed Andrew Symonds to get away, had been cited by former greats as poor captaincy. Besides, he has been severely hampered by the divisions within the team.

With Wasim Akram barred from becoming captain because of the match-fixing controversy, former wicketkeeper Moin Khan is most likely to take over Waqar's job when the captaincy throne falls vacant.

Moin's candidature is likely to gain favour over that of vice-captain Inzamam-ul Haq, who has been desperately out of form of late. He has scored fewer runs than the number of pounds of weight he had lost in the run-up to the tournament.

Inzamam's punch-up with batsman Younis Khan on Monday would also not have particularly brightened the vice-captain's chances of leading Pakistan.

Pakistan, which miserably failed to live up to its reputation as a side which could topple the best on its day, is also planning a series of moves to resuscitate its cricket fortunes.

Akram, whose retirement is not far off, but who still commands considerable influence in the team, has been sounded out about taking over as coach.

Even during the World Cup, Akram had been made a party to the team decisions by coach Richard Pybus and assistant coach Daryl Foster without Waqar being hurt.