Captaincy for Misbah – to be or not be…?

Once again 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? In this regard, PCB seems to be a divided house.

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, was transformed for the good.

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.

However, the biggest draw back of Misbah ul Haq has been the element of favouritism which he displays for his colleagues playing with him in his domestic team. This aspect of favouritism in his personality, makes him absolutely unfit to be a leader of the national out fit.

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 even before the start of the series, also 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 previously on the great legendary Mr. 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.

How can Misbah ul Haq be retained as captain till the ODI World Cup 2015, when he led the team in the champions trophy, where Pakistan was LASTranked team among all the participants?

Handing over the task of leading the team again to Misbah ul Haq for the World Cup 2015, will be an act of hara-kiri (suicide or any suicidal action; a self-destructive act). What else could be the act of madness or insanity which was aptly defined by Albert Einstein that “doing an act, without change, over and over again and expecting a different result?”

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.

A good captain can make a poor team good and a good team great. 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. Further, the captain must be a PRO ACTIVE AND MUST NOT BE A REACTIVE PERSONALITY.

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 during the last tour of Zimbabwe, where we lost an ODI as well as, a Test match.

In view of the foregoing and keeping under consideration of the long term interests of the Pakistani cricket, which has to plan for up to 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, under the circumstances, we have two options. Firstly, to play safe, we may appoint Younis khan as captain for the ODI and the Test teams (with certain factors of fitness, age, experience, class and abilities in his favour more than any other cricketer in Pakistan), with Ahmad Shahzad as his deputy, who may take over as the captain for all the three formats of the game, after the ODI World Cup 2015. Simultaneously, to imbibe confidence and to gain the experience, Ahmad Shahzad may be appointed as captain for the T20 team, as well.

Secondly, in the midst of the experienced set of team management personnel, we can straight away, close the chapter of team players politics, for a minimum of about 5-7 years, by right away appointing Ahmad Shahzad as captain, for all the three formats of the game, of a new look futuristic Pakistan team. Yes, experienced players like Younis Khan, Misbah ul Haq and Shahid Afridi must be retained to play as seasoned members in the team, as long as, they are able to deliver.