http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 and the One-Day captaincy- Pakistan Cricket
After months of rumours before the world cup, Misbah-ul-Haq has finally been handed the one-day captaincy of the Pakistan national team after the former captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 developed estranged relationship with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the
team management.
Afridi who had led a battered Pakistan squad to the semi-final of the prestigious http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, returned home as a conqueror and was expected to be retained by the cricket board.
Afridi then went with the team to the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, where his side sealed the five-match One Day International series by taking the first three games. However, the latter games were lost by the tourists.
On his return back home, Afridi revealed that he had major differences with the touring management over the selection of the playing eleven. This is believed to be Achilles heel for the 31-year old all-rounder as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128, the chairman of the PCB decided
it was time for the hard hitting all-rounder to be replaced.
After receiving a detailed report from manager Intikhab Alam, the decision was finally taken and the realms of the national team were given to the test skipper, the middle order batsman Misbah.
While Misbah is a splendidly talented batsman for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 and has proved his worth in the longest format of the game as a leader, making him the captain of the 50-over squad is beyond comprehension. While teams all over the world look for younger players
to lead their sides for a longer stint, Pakistan has done exactly the opposite by appointing the 37-year old Misbah.
Perhaps, Butt has forgotten the role his newly appointed skipper played in the semi-final, where his lack of finding boundaries put enormous pressure on the batsmen who were with him in the middle and slowly the required run-rate reached to a point which
was beyond anyone’s grasp.
The weirdest part of the prevailing situation is the fact that, Misbah was almost written-off by the same PCB a year ago, where there was a general agreement within the PCB officials that Misbah had passed his prime and was of no use to the national team.
He was then later recalled after the exclusion of Mohammad Yousuf to provide some experience in the middle-order.
There is no guarantee that Misbah will even be fit enough to play the next world cup, so why has the PCB taken such an illogical decision? Perhaps in haste of dethroning Afridi, Butt could only think of Misbah’s credentials good enough to match with Afridi’s.
However, it will be better for the PCB to clarify if this is a transitional phase and Misbah will be relinquished within a few months and replaced by a younger player more suitably by opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez.
Hafeez is believed to have a good cricketing head and at the age of 30, he seems a better option to captain Pakistan on a long run, or at least until the next world cup, which is to be played in 2015. Having said all this, retaining Afridi in the national
team is still a better idea instead of writing him off for good. Even at the age of 31, he is still among the fittest players in the Pakistani camp and it will be shame to let go of such a talented cricketer.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
Tags: