Pakistan cricket captaincy fiasco
Looking at the rate at which the PCB (read http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128) is going about juggling Pakistan test captains, it can be said with reasonable surety that each and every cricket following member of our country would one day get the chance of being at the helm of Pakistan
cricket. Considering recent trends though that chance might not last for more than one series, because lady luck always seems to desert new Pakistani captains after a single series in charge of the team. Before the reader starts rolling his eyes at this outrageous
suggestion, consider the fact that the only two qualifications that are seemingly required to become our nation’s test captain are an aptitude in politics and back-stabbing, and at the same time a total lack of cricketing talent, and I daresay many Pakistanis
have both these gifts in ample proportions. The points made above are not merely the rants of a disillusioned cricket lover, and can easily be proved in relation to Misbah-ul-Haq’s sudden test recall and ascent to the much envied position of Pakistan captain.
Objectively taking a good look at Misbah’s disciplinary record does reveal some misdemeanours which have been conveniently overlooked at. A recent statement by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohsin-c77587 Khan, the chief selector of PCB left everybody who heard or read it utterly flabbergasted;
in this statement Mr. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khan-c71319 cited Misbah’s “neat and clean record” as one of the reasons for his appointment as captain. This would surely prompt cricket lovers to ask the question that was Misbah not a part of the group of players who reportedly took an oath
on the Quran to deliberately under perform under Younis’ captaincy? When he has such an action on record in the recent past against one of the most successful Pakistan captains of late, only God knows how the chief selector can call his record “neat and clean’.
More relevant perhaps in normal cricketing nations(http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 thankfully is not a part of that boring group with a scandal every fortnight being the usual rate here), would be the player’s cricketing record, and that in Misbah’s case totally justifies his
selection, for he does have an average to shame the likes of Bradman, Pollock and Headley, doesn’t he? For God’s sake the guy has not made a single score of 100 or above even in domestic cricket since he was dropped after the Australian tour for poor performance.
I hope everybody remembers the Australian series, yes it was the same one in which the Pakistanis were dropping catches at such an alarming rate that by the end of the series the Aussies started offering catches just to torture the helpless Pakistani fielders,
this incidentally was also the series (one of many that is) in which our batting consistently and miserably failed and in which our new captain had an unbelievable and record-smashing average of under 25. That is truly what we want from our star batsman and
our leader in these troubled times.
However, the PCB must start sticking with their captains through thick and thin. People might or might not like Misbah’s appointment, but the PCB has to realize the fact that if they want to rebuild Pakistan’s cricket team there has to be continuity in team
selection and more importantly in captaincy appointments. A strong case for continuity can be made keeping the Australian cricket team’s captains in view. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 is being cited as an example here, because no one can deny the fact that they have been the
standout performers in the cricketing world for the better part of the last two decades. They have had exactly 4 captains since (and including) the appointment of Allan Border in the mid 1980s and one can marvel where their cricket is nowadays. In stark contrast,
almost every Tom, d**k and Harry that has been a part of the Pakistani team, has at some or the other point in his career been made captain, making Pakistan cricket no more than shambles.
Let us hope for the sake of Pakistan cricket that God sends someone from the skies to free us from the evil clutches of Butt and his muppets, so that we can come back to our winning days of old once again.
Tags: