Why not Misbah ul Haq for the Captaincy?

There is a debate going on in the Pakistani cricketing circles, that should Misbah ul Haq be retained as captain of the Test and ODI teams or not?

Firstly, it should be made clear to every player that if anyone is removed from the captaincy, it does not mean the end of his playing career. In the past we have seen that when legendary Sir. Ian Botham was removed from the captaincy of the England’s team, not only there was a big spur in the performance of Ian Botham, but in the entire English team, as well.

Generally, people appreciate the batting prowess of Misbah ul Haq. However, he is also being criticised for startlingly wrong team selections, unimaginative batting order decisions, defensive field placings, wrong bowling schemes and his own very slow start of the innings, even in the ODI matches. On an over all basis, now he is being labeled as a defensive captain.

In particular, MUH’s moves in South African tour dented his reputation very badly, when he unnecessarily called players from Pakistan, even before the start of the first Test match. Moreover, his media statements also even before the start of the series, confirmed that he had surrendered the series before the first ball was was bowled. One should never be over awed by the paper strength of the opposition. Going by the analogy of MUH, the Zimbabwe should have also surrendered before the start of the series against Pakistan. And now MUH has the guts to say that he was not a defensive captain. Yes, he is in fact, not worth even a defensive captain, which was a label affixed on Zaheer Abbas, as well.

Captains are sheer brain and cricket is played in the mind, just like a chess game. But in MUH’s case, we are at a loss to know that he is totally devoid of the common sense, which he amply exhibited in South African series, when everybody knew that Hafeez was bothering their batsmen with new ball, MUH made sure, he was not given the new ball, at many such moments. The whole of Pakistan knew how much Irfan bothered the SA batsmen on their pitches, but he was not selected to play the first Test match. We can easily write the details consuming reams of papers, about the common sense decisions not taken by MUH, in selection of players and during the currency of the games, specially during the South African series, champions trophy in England, West Indian and Zimbabwe tours.

Now the question is what is expected from a captain? Firstly, it should be remembered that in all the team games, the role of a captain in the game of cricket, is of the prime importance. A cricket captain is invested as is an American president, with a fanciful suite of powers and responsibilities, more than any one man can bear (Link:- http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/clarke-versus-cook-ashes-a-defining-test-for-captains-20130710-2poxm.html) A good captain can make a poor team good and a good team great (link:-http://m.wikihow.com/Captain-a-Village-Cricket-Team) Here, we remember late AH Kardar, who had to lead a pack of Pakistani players, out of which 8-9 players were the worst fielders. But then, he always used his players in such a manner, that their weaknesses were least exposed to the opponents.

Captains in cricket have to have a brain to create victories, because victories are never offered by the opponents in a plate, rather it is carved out on the chess board of the cricket field.

It is the foremost job of the captain to always keep his team players so charged up, focused and motivated that victories are snatched from the jaws of the defeat; and not that defeats are snatched from the jaws of the victory; as happened with our team, twice in the recently concluded tour of Zimbabwe.

The captain is also required to do the following:

Know what you’ll do if you win the toss. Think about the conditions, the points system and the relative strength of your team. If in doubt then go with your teams strength, if you’ve lots of good bowlers then bowl first. If you all bat then bat first. Once you’re on top, you’ll probably win.

Attack in the field. Bowlers bowl better with attacking fields. Always attack the new batsman. If a batsman hits two similar shots into the same place then put a fielder there. Always have a plan – or look like you have one. Never keep the same field for two different batsmen. Be active!

Practise catching and throwing more than any other team at the nets and before a game. Catches really do win matches. No-one means to drop a catch so encourage everyone to go for everything and praise everyone for every genuine attempt. Keen fielding teams win most of their games.

Role Allocation. Give everyone a role in the side and make them feel important, then let them get on with it. Encourage everyone to express themselves – spinners to toss it up, pacemen to bowl fast, stroke makers to hit it and stone wallers to rotate the strike without getting out. (Link:- http://m.wikihow.com/Captain-a-Village-Cricket-Team).

In view of the foregoing and keeping under consideration of the long term interests of the Pakistani cricket, which has to plan for upto June-July 2017 Test matches championships and 2015 ODI World Cup, there is no doubt that at the best we have a 50:50 chance that Misbah ul Haq will be able to continue till the above named two important events. Therefore, we have no option except to appoint Younis khan as captain (with certain factors of fitness, age, experience, class and abilities in his favour more than any other cricketer in Pakistan) to give him a fair chance to rebuild the team for the next 3-5 years. Yes MUH must be retained to play as a seasoned batsman in team, as long as he is able to deliver.