Pakistan Cricket: http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 on a resurgent course
Pakistan’s current skipper, the middle-order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq after facing the wrath of his countrymen, is on a resurgent course and out to prove himself in the limited overs game after voices of his axing from the team have risen on numerous occasions.
Haq, who is an outstanding batsman for Pakistan in the middle, has failed to steer his side to victory on more than one occasion.
However, the Pakistani nation seems to forget that the mild-mannered batsman has led his side to victories against top teams in the world in the longest format of the game.
Who could have thought that Pakistan would one day be able to humble teams like Sri Lanka, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 and England in Test cricket.
Test cricket has never been Pakistan’s strength however, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 and England in recent
months, where Pakistan faced these teams in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033 (UAE).
However, all h**l broke loose after Pakistan were handed an embarrassing defeat by England in One-Day and T20 series. The series became a nightmare for Misbah as his countrymen blamed him for the debacle.
Although in cricket, the bulk of the responsibility lies on the skipper, if the batsmen keep getting out on poor deliveries, the captain should not be blamed. And then it is time to realize the fact that Misbah is no Afridi, and to expect him to hit sixes
thrice in one over is just too much to ask.
The batsman is capable of retaining his wicket and crafting an irritating innings, which frustrates even the best of bowling attacks in the world.
Such is the quality of Misbah and that is why Pakistan are lucky to have him in their ranks.
The batsman was given the captaincy of the limited overs squad last year when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Waqar-Younis-Maitla-c96193.
Although the decision came as a surprise, it was the right call by the PCB and even though many would suggest another name, Haq was the right man for the job.
There is another school of thought that supports the naming of opener Mohammad Hafeez as the next ODI/T20 skipper and while he might also be a good prospect, he certainly lacks the amount of experience under Misbah’s belt.
Nonetheless, there is a strong voice in the PCB against Misbah and rumours suggest that the batsman might see an end to his ODI/T20 captaincy reign after the Asia Cup 2012.
With Hafeez as the strongest contender for the slot of captaincy, there is no telling what the PCB has planned as Afridi might be convinced to take back his captaincy; however, the all-rounder has given no gesture that would suggest that he wants his old
job back.
Naming Afridi might not be a productive decision as he has been tested and it is time for the cricket board to look forward and give a younger lad a chance to lead.
On the other hand, it is time for Pakistan to groom future players as captaincy would mean little if the players lack the ability to match the calling of their skipper.
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