Of the two roles, I'll judge him less as Selector - his selections were not that bad to be honest and he is seriously handicapped by the empty barrel (I hope this time it won't instigate "strong" reaction/retaliation). At the end of the day, there are some ground realities, for PP to digest -
1. Recent National T20 was won by a team of grand dads
2. The guy winning MoTS in the National T20 actually exposed the quality of it against ZIM, without Jarvis & Chatara
3. At this ripe age MoHa/Malik would have smoked past this ZIM in their afternoon walk
4. The best player after Babar in this series from PAK side was an officially 36 years old fast bowler
5. The series winning match was decided by the spin of the cursed guy - Iftekhar ....
6. A 40+ MoHa/Malik combo will look almost like Greg & Ian Chappel brothers in this mega tal*nted PAK generation.
7. If there were proper merit in selection, two players that should really feel denied for the T20 leg are Imran Khan Sr. & Sohail Khan - one can check National T20 numbers .... the third one is Shoaib Maqsood - 35, 36 & 34 years old respectively; officially, I must say.
I can give justifications of many of his past selections -
1. Mo Irfan - I backed that time and I'll back it again. A washed up Irfan is miles, miles better than the other talent hyped here in PP, for AUS T20s. He wasn't the worst bowler and for four overs, as long as his body carries, he will trouble batsmen in AUS. That was the time still T20 WC in AUS was on - I can't blame Misbah for trying a pacer, if fit could have been the best new ball T20 pacer from PAK.
2. Musa Khan - that was public demand. I can pull-up some old posts here and make few red faces, but won't be necessary. Picking him for AUS T20 wasn't wrong when public demand was tal*nt & youth, but yes, he has over stressed it later. Should have tried other options.
3. Haider - a player playing U19 WC, was picked for UK tour within 6 months, itself is a mind blowing progress for PAK cricket. His successor was the most powerful Captain of PAK since Khan - in his four years not a single U19 player debuted ... for a reminder, those were the days when PAK won back to back U19 WCs. Yes, Haider could have started on the 1st T20 in UK
4. Usman Qadir - they are trying to find a genuine leggi, who first is a leg-spinner, then fielder and finally all-rounder. Tell me another name ....
5. Gohar should have been given more opportunities - but since he took charge, PAK played three Tests at home and they opted for three men pace attack - Yasir commands his spot as fourth bowler. Other 5 Tests were in AUS & UK - it's good that Gohar wasn't debuted there. For LOs, problem is that Imad will always be the better pick and they had Haris as well; Shadab being a confirmed pick, hardly much options there. But, Gohar should have played against ZIM when Imad was rested and Musa was picked .....
6. Khusdil could have been picked in UK T20s - that would have only busted the bubble a few months earlier .... his time will come, no worries.
7. Abdullah Shafiq was trolled around here, instead of playing 3 FC games he was deployed to carry drinks - that was a blunder. However, I am not sure about him yet - I would rather say Misbah missed a trick by not picking Saud - I don't blame Misbah for not playing Abdullah (but picking him was a disgusting crowd pleaser tactics).
8. Rizwan is a National enemy now, because PP is too much charged-up with the talent & potential of Ruhail .... even people from Australia are wetting beds in dreams - I have seen his keeping so far, PP will see his batting as well .... when his time comes.
I can go on, but I guess it's already bitter enough - that "scratching the bottom of empty barrel", already must have touched some nerves - but it's reality. I have seen PAK cricket more than most here and the signs were alarming even 5/6 years back .... now it's at scary level. Once again - thanks God that Modi Sarkar has put a ban on IND-PAK cricket, warna ...... our Mods would have required to open few spicy threads to keep the PP traffic on ......
HOWEVER, there is ABSOLUTY NO RESPITE for Misbah the useless Coach that he is. He has no technical qualification, no understanding of the game either outside his tried & tested UAE tactics with two darters, no clue about the combination (he should have been sacked for that last combination of four pacers + Iftekhar ... he or Babar, one head must be thick enough to be shaven) ......... he is just a paid Cheerleader as Head Coach of PCT.
I have seen some of the batting of PAK team - against this speed of ZIM pacers, on these dead slow tracks, the number of LBW/Bowled I see in scorecard .... it tells lot about the batting coach. The most economical bowler here was probably Sikandar - an above average part-time Offie, who would have seen nightmares in broad day light against any other Asian sides on this size of ground. Then the super over ..... FGS
PCB/WK first made a blunder by appointing an incompetent, unqualified person for the most powerful Management role in history of PCT - the Head Coach & CS in a combo pack. And, that guy was holding like 3-4 other paid jobs ... then, they made the second blunder - sacked him as CS (as CS, I'll take Misbah over Inzi, Qasim, H Rashid, Ilyas ... any given day of the week), but kept him for the technical role of Head Coach .... that too replacing a guy with 25+ years of Coaching experience in SAF, AUS, UK & PAK; holding an ECB Level IV, Pro Coaching Badge.
Despite every negativity, PAK pacers actually improved under WY - they are disappointing compared to the hype of PP and few posters earning cheap claps from deluded fans, feeding much vaunted Pakistani ego .... but, Shaheen, Hasnain, Haris ... actually have shown improvements - if he is fit, Naseem will also prove his worth (but obviously Incarnation of Fred Trueman, the second greatest fast bowler of all-time might be a bit stress). THE reason - WY actually is a qualified/experienced fast bowling coach - he himself was one of the most lethal pacer in history, played for PAK for almost 15 years, played in Counties for 10-12 years, have gone under several professional coaches .... he knows his job. He was a failure as Head Coach, just like as Captain as the job requirements were different, but as a fast bowling coach, he is the best that PCB can avail now - so it's working. Sadly, can't say that about Misbah the Head Coach or Batting Coach.
