Pakistan captain Younus Khan has hit out at his underperforming senior batsmen Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq.

Dramatic batting collapses marked Pakistan's series loss in Sri Lanka, the home side taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series with victories in the first two Tests.

Pakistan had needed only 97 runs and with eight wickets and two full days to secure victory in the first Test at Galle, but instead capitulated to a 50-run defeat.

"What can I do if senior players fail regularly?"

The visitors again crumbled on the first day of the second Test in Colombo and were bowled out for a mere 90 runs.

And they went on to throw away a winning hand in the second innings, crashing from 285 for two to 320 all out, eventually losing by seven wickets.

Younus was refusing to take responsibility for his stars' poor showings, though.

He told Geo News: "I just inherited these players. What can I do if players like Malik and Misbah are failing regularly?

"If I just throw them out of the team, the whole of Pakistan will start talking that I've gotten rid of them. It is up to the authorities to decide what should be done about it."

Several former players have blamed Pakistan's abject performances on infighting and factions in the team.

"Pakistan cricket is suffering"

Legendary spinner Abdul Qadir, who last month resigned from the chief selector's post, accused Malik of being the cause of dissidence in the team.

"When I resigned as chief selector, I am on record as saying that Malik should be punished for letting captain Younus down," Qadir said.

"I maintain that there is factionalism in the team. I would say even if we have to drop most of the senior players to get rid of the internal politics within the team, it is not a costly bargain because in the end it is Pakistan cricket that is suffering."

But Younus is against the idea of getting rid of his all his senior players in one go.

"After the 2003 World Cup, the board decided to drop almost all the senior players and that turned out to be a bad move," he said.

"If we too drop all the senior players, it would be hard to find good replacements right away."

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt has categorically refuted suggestions of factions in the team.

Whether the PCB act on Younus' views will be apparent when the team for the one-day series is picked during the course of the third Test, which starts next week.