Babar Azam as T20I captain

[Adil.farooqui]

Putting aside completely the fact that Sarfraz is probably the weakest link in our T20I team, I think now is the perfect opportunity to start grooming Babar to take on the responsibility of captaincy.

Workload management wise for Sarfraz and to keep an eye for the future, it would be a sensible decision.

Unfortunately we don't have a backup keeper in the squad, otherwise it would have been nice to see this happen in the 3rd match considering its a dead rubber.

 

[gazza619]

I think Sarfaraz is doing just fine. He is back on track. His keeping is OK. He scored a few runs in the test series. I see no reason why he should be dropped.
Babar’s time will come.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

I dont think Babar is captaincy material.

Rather i would groom someone like Fakhar Zaman if any for t20s.

Saud Shakeel should be captain of A team.

 

[Hasan123]

Seems likely he will be made captain after Sarfraz. So he should at least get captaincy in the PSL to give him some experience.

 

[emranabbas]

With babar as a captain we may witness another misbah era
We would be playing t20s like odis, odis like test and would be looking to draw every test

 

[mak36]

)

What is this thread?

Here are the facts:

Sarfaraz has literally just won 10 T20I series in a row as captain. He has never lost a T20I series as captain. He has won 26 out of 29 T20Is as captain.

There is a T20 World Cup in two years time, and he will likely stay on as T20 captain until then at the very least.

If you want to groom someone, Fakhar is your man.

 

[ShahidDar08]

Sarfaraz should play only test matches. Rizwan is in good form, it is time to get him in both odi's and T20's.

 

[Barragan]

Not captaincy material and sarfraz's captaincy in T20's is his best out of all the formats.

If I were to remove sarfraz from one format as captain, then it would be Test cricket.

 

[Bleedgreen4ever]

)

What is this thread?

Here are the facts:

Sarfaraz has literally just won 10 T20I series in a row as captain. He has never lost a T20I series as captain. He has won 26 out of 29 T20Is as captain.

There is a T20 World Cup in two years time, and he will likely stay on as T20 captain until then at the very least.

If you want to groom someone, Fakhar is your man.

I think these people did not see today's match

 

[mak36]

I think these people did not see today's match

With gems like " weakest link in our T20I team" I don't think they have ever watched cricket.

 

[pakistani pride]

With gems like " weakest link in our T20I team" I don't think they have ever watched cricket.

Thats GEM of the century

 

[Attiq_Lone]

Putting aside completely the fact that Sarfraz is probably the weakest link in our T20I team, I think now is the perfect opportunity to start grooming Babar to take on the responsibility of captaincy.

Workload management wise for Sarfraz and to keep an eye for the future, it would be a sensible decision.

Unfortunately we don't have a backup keeper in the squad, otherwise it would have been nice to see this happen in the 3rd match considering its a dead rubber.

Sarfraz the weakest link in your team? He barely bats in t20s or if he does so he bats for 1 over or 2. He has just won you 10 consecutive series, you are the no.1 ranked t20 side. So no need of changing captain.

As far as I know babar is the vice captain in the limited overs, whether people like it or not he is gonna be the next captain, post sarfraz. He is playing slow in t20s but that is his role, to bat along the innings. He is improving on power hitting and improvement takes time. Just as an example, virat kohli used to bat slow at the start of his career, look at him now. Babar is still work in progress and he is going on the right direction.

My conclusion would be that it is too early to think about change in captaincy because sarfraz is doing okay, and probably will be the captain till 2023 in all three formats. And for people criticising babar: he is young, he is improving, and by that time I am very hopeful that your idea about him will change.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

)

What is this thread?

Here are the facts:

Sarfaraz has literally just won 10 T20I series in a row as captain. He has never lost a T20I series as captain. He has won 26 out of 29 T20Is as captain.

There is a T20 World Cup in two years time, and he will likely stay on as T20 captain until then at the very least.

If you want to groom someone, Fakhar is your man.

Might be a shock to you but captaincy is the most overrated facet in cricket.

 

[idrizzy]

So he can take more balls to get to his 50? No thanks. Him and Hafeez both play similar roles, which can work, but if he was captain you can bet that he will have more pressure to perform and therefore will take more balls to get settled in and get a score. Not a performance, but a score.

 

[goran]

It's completely illogical to even think of removing Sarfraz as a T20 captain after such a stellar record. Moreover, Babar is not a captaincy material, Fakhar should be groomed to take over from Sarfraz in the future.

 

[RagingJ]

Might be a shock to you but captaincy is the most overrated facet in cricket.

It really is not.

A cricket captain has so many things to do and think about, any decision they make can change the game. It's not like being the captain of any other sports team where you just motivate them and give a few orders here and there, being a captain of a cricket team a tough job.

 

[Adil.farooqui]

My problem is not with Sarfrazs captaincy. He has an excellent captaincy record, absolutely no doubt. However he hardly bats in T20's and is holding his place in the team purely because of his captaincy (Rizwan is a superior keeper).

Chances are we would have won 9 out of 10 (if not all 10) of these series even if someone else was captaining since our squad has been just that good. I would thank the PSL far more for our T20 successes than Sarfraz(not to say he isn't a factor).

That being said, T20 World Cup is 2 years away. There is more than enough time for Babar to be groomed to take on the role. It would be best if Sarfraz keeps his mind on ODIs/Tests and it will allow us to build a reserve keeper with international experience in case he gets injured somewhere along the line.

 

[CricketDon]

Great.

Replace the guy who hasn’t lost a series in T20 since he’s become Captain and won 10 series T20 across the globe.

Replace him with... Babar King of smashing West Indies and a world XI Azam.

 

[Minnowbasher]

Why babar? He's the most timid and shy guy in the team. We need captains who can stand up for the team in difficult situations.

 

[IMMY69]

Might be a shock to you but captaincy is the most overrated facet in cricket.

Did you really write that???

 

[Attiq_Lone]

For people writing him off the captaincy, should know that he captained the u19 team at the 2012 u19 world cup topping the group stage. In the quarter final Pakistan lost to india by 1 wicket defending a very low total. In that match, babar made some very good bowling changes and some very good field positions. He also captained the A team.

Now He must be given captaincy at domestic level, and PSL. He will be a good captain

 

[Mamoon]

It really is not.

A cricket captain has so many things to do and think about, any decision they make can change the game. It's not like being the captain of any other sports team where you just motivate them and give a few orders here and there, being a captain of a cricket team a tough job.

He is not wrong. Sarfraz has lost 7 out of 7 ODIs as captain in the last 12 months against high ranked opposition. Yes, a 100% losing record without any exceptions.

If he is that great a tactician and a leader, can anyone explain why he could not lead the team to a single win in those games? Not even one?

Not to mention his own form has been atrocious in Limited Overs.

Literally anyone in the team could have lead Pakistan to these 10 consecutive series wins in T20s, where half of the matches were against West Indies on slow pitches, Scotland, Sri Lanka and other joke series like the World XI tour.

I don’t see how those wins against England (1 match only, and his first as captain), New Zealand and Australia would have been defeats with someone else leading the team.

 

[Hasan123]

He is not wrong. Sarfraz has lost 7 out of 7 ODIs as captain in the last 12 months against high ranked opposition. Yes, a 100% losing record without any exceptions.

If he is that great a tactician and a leader, can anyone explain why he could not lead the team to a single win in those games? Not even one?

Not to mention his own form has been atrocious in Limited Overs.

Literally anyone in the team could have lead Pakistan to these 10 consecutive series wins in T20s, where half of the matches were against West Indies on slow pitches, Scotland, Sri Lanka and other joke series like the World XI tour.

I don’t see how those wins against England (1 match only, and his first as captain), New Zealand and Australia would have been defeats with someone else leading the team.

The excuse for him not winning any of those games is that the team is a young and inexperienced. Also the players didn't perform. Lots of reasons other than Sarfraz not being as good a tactican as his fans say.

 

[Mamoon]

The excuse for him not winning any of those games is that the team is a young and inexperienced. Also the players didn't perform. Lots of reasons other than Sarfraz not being as good a tactican as his fans say.

When Pakistan loses, it is the team; when Pakistan wins, it is the brilliant tactics of Sarfraz.

His fan club is a special one.

 

[ARK Rafay]

Maybe Sarfraz manages to get his tactics right in T20s as compared to ODIs and Test? But then again that is not most likely the case. Because in T20s you're your own captain.

 

[Mamoon]

Maybe Sarfraz manages to get his tactics right in T20s as compared to ODIs and Test? But then again that is not most likely the case. Because in T20s you're your own captain.

T20 is the least tactical format, so if Sarfraz is doing we as captain in T20s but struggling in ODIs (most tactical format), it pretty much sums up his level as captain.

Captaincy in T20s is a very repetitive process and hardly requires any out of the box thinking - 80% of bowling changes and field settings are fixed.

 

[Hedz]

Not Babar Azam, at least not yet
He seems like a more reserved member of the squad, so I doubt he is capable of making big decisions with seniors around and will just follow what Mickey or senior players say
Ideally in T20, you need a dynamic captain who can change based on the situation at hand

For me Sarfraz is doing a brilliant job, keep him as captain. After the next T20I WC if there is a need to replace, then do so with Fakhar Zaman. Ideally, Fakhar would have had some experience of captaining a PSL side by then (hopefully he is Qalandars captain this year).

After that the floor isn’t open to Babar Azam, Shadab Khan and Hassan Ali, whoever is performing and can showcase some leadership skills should take the role. Atm I’m leaning more towards Shadab as he is the player who is confident and has a big impact in all three aspects of the game.
Hassan Ali would be my second in line, whilst I would consider Babar for ODI captaincy

But atm no need

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Lol did someone just say captaincy doesn't matter in cricket ?

I can bet my house Pakistan would have never won CT if Sarfraz was not the captain.. He restricted teams to 230s in conditions where 300 plus was a par score. From the verge of playing world cup qualifiers to winning a global tournamenr by beating arch rivals in final do require excellent captaincy.. Why should we discount what he won (which is 10 times greater than) to what he lost? If you were in Pakistan that time you can easily say that's the best moment for Pakistani people in their sports life for last 25 years and the captain Sarfraz played a major role in it. Misbah, Azhar, Afridi would have never won that.

Kher one can say that Sarfraz or for that matter Faf du plesis or some xyz captain isn't good or were poor in some series amd ok in others etc but you cant just devalue a captains role in cricket in any format. Pakistan were disastrous in t20s before Sarfraz but are winning every series after him surely that would never have been the case under Afridi who said there is no talent in Pakistan after losing world t20. Similarly Pakistan did well well under Misbah in test matches in UAE but not so well under Sarfraz as he has captained 12 first class matches before becoming test captain and clearly needs to be better at using spinners in test matches. One can give a thousand reasons in favor or against him but captaincy in cricket do matter!

 

[Khan12]

Lol did someone just say captaincy doesn't matter in cricket ?

I can bet my house Pakistan would have never won CT if Sarfraz was not the captain.. He restricted teams to 230s in conditions where 300 plus was a par score. From the verge of playing world cup qualifiers to winning a global tournamenr by beating arch rivals in final do require excellent captaincy.. Why should we discount what he won (which is 10 times greater than) to what he lost? If you were in Pakistan that time you can easily say that's the best moment for Pakistani people in their sports life for last 25 years and the captain Sarfraz played a major role in it. Misbah, Azhar, Afridi would have never won that.

Kher one can say that Sarfraz or for that matter Faf du plesis or some xyz captain isn't good or were poor in some series amd ok in others etc but you cant just devalue a captains role in cricket in any format. Pakistan were disastrous in t20s before Sarfraz but are winning every series after him surely that would never have been the case under Afridi who said there is no talent in Pakistan after losing world t20. Similarly Pakistan did well well under Misbah in test matches in UAE but not so well under Sarfraz as he has captained 12 first class matches before becoming test captain and clearly needs to be better at using spinners in test matches. One can give a thousand reasons in favor or against him but captaincy in cricket do matter!

Yes Sarfraz won the the trophy becuase it was him bowling as hasan ali, batting like fakhar, Amir ( final ). Afridi Played a major roleis us winning the t20 which something sarfraz can't even do in his dream.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

^ there is a difference between being captain and being a player. Bruh!

Jazbaati honay ki zaroorat nahi parh lo phlai likha kia hai. Where did I say Sarfraz himself bowled ? Aisa krtay hain cricket sai captain he khatam kr detay hain.

Afrdi has lost more matches in t20s as captain than he won even if we eliminate world t20 and that's a fact. Baat as captain ho rahi hai tum pata nahi kahan lai gaye.

 

[Khan12]

^ there is a difference between being captain and being a player. Bruh!

Jazbaati honay ki zaroorat nahi parh lo phlai likha kia hai. Where did I say Sarfraz himself bowled ? Aisa krtay hain cricket sai captain he khatam kr detay hain.

Afrdi has lost more matches in t20s as captain than he won even if we eliminate world t20 and that's a fact. Baat as captain ho rahi hai tum pata nahi kahan lai gaye.

So Pakistan won becuase Sarfaz was the captian. Got you so this world cup we should take our u15 with sarfraz being caotain. We shouldn't have any problem of winning the world cup. I do know Afridi wasn't the captain but just sated sarfraz can never produce them sort of performances in his dreams. The t20 result would have been the same even if Azhar Ali was the captain.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

^ Uff Allah ji

Bhai Pakistan didn't won because Sarfraz was captain rather Sarfraz played an important role. Itni simple si baat ki hai pta nahi kahan ghuma rahy ho. We were no 8 before his appointment and almost played world cup qualifiers , team was disintegrated .. surely captaincy had a role.

Afridi , Misbah, Hafeez all had their chances to lead us to a global tournament win but coudnt with higher ranked Pakistani teams. Just weren't good enough. Sarfraz grasped the opportunity in first go with a bottom ranked team.

I dont know about you but for me and a lot of Pakistanis a tournament win that too by beating arch rivals India in final would forever hold much value over few bilateral series loses.

 

[Mamoon]

Captaincy in Limited Overs is all about managing the middle-half of the innings, and that is where most games are won and lost.

This middle-half is around 30 overs long in ODIs and around 7-8 overs long in T20s. Great captains make their mark on the game in this period.

Teams have designated new ball and death bowlers, but is the management of the game in the middle-half that differentiates captains.

Someone like Misbah would allow easy single in the middle overs while someone like Dhoni would suffocate teams with part-time spinners.

In T20s, pretty much 12 out of 20 overs are fixed and do not vary from game to game. For Pakistan, Imad bowls his quota of 4 overs first up regardless of whether they are bowling first or defending 200 or 100, while more often than not, you will have pacers bowling in the last 3-4 overs.

The only management and flexibility that a captain exhibits is in the middle-half which is the shortest in T20s, and which is why it is the least tactical format with the minimal impact of captaincy.

Our great record in T20s does not show Sarfraz’s greatness as a tactician, but rather, the disparity between our performances across 20 overs and 50 overs exposes his captaincy.

Tests are quite different in this respect. Bowling changes are more or less set - you open with new ball bowlers, bring spinners on when the ball gets old and soft, bring pacers on if there is reverse on offer and bring your new ball bowlers back into the attack after the 80th over.

It is a highly repetitive process, and captaincy in that format is all about field placements and timing your declaration, and now the use of DRS has added a new dimension.

Sarfraz’s failures on all three fronts allowed Australia to escape with a respectable 1-0 rather than a humiliating 2-0.

However, these “facts” are too uncomfortable for the bakhts of captain fantastic. Much like the another dimension of captaincy - leading from the front, although the twin fifties in the second Test has given them some breathing space.

However still, they run over themselves when asked to explain why Sarfraz’s great management and in-game decisions could not result in a single win against the top ODI sides over the last 12 months. Even the Law of Averages failed to work for his tactical genius.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Haha

We were no 8 before Sarfarz took over in odis and now no 5. Surely an improvement. Added to the global odi tournament win with a bottom ranked no 8 team which will forever hold more importance for Pakistanis than a few bilateral series loses. But simple logic is hard to understand for some geniuses and they try to manipulate facts with their long posts but unfortunately it works for naive people not everyone.

 

[RagingJ]

He is not wrong. Sarfraz has lost 7 out of 7 ODIs as captain in the last 12 months against high ranked opposition. Yes, a 100% losing record without any exceptions.

If he is that great a tactician and a leader, can anyone explain why he could not lead the team to a single win in those games? Not even one?

Not to mention his own form has been atrocious in Limited Overs.

Literally anyone in the team could have lead Pakistan to these 10 consecutive series wins in T20s, where half of the matches were against West Indies on slow pitches, Scotland, Sri Lanka and other joke series like the World XI tour.

I don’t see how those wins against England (1 match only, and his first as captain), New Zealand and Australia would have been defeats with someone else leading the team.

I'm not talking about Sarfraz's captaincy, I'm talking about being a captain of a cricket team in general...

 

[Rayyman]

For T20Is, Pakistan's vice-captain should be either Imad or Babar.

 

[Ummii]

Captaincy in Limited Overs is all about managing the middle-half of the innings, and that is where most games are won and lost.

This middle-half is around 30 overs long in ODIs and around 7-8 overs long in T20s. Great captains make their mark on the game in this period.

Teams have designated new ball and death bowlers, but is the management of the game in the middle-half that differentiates captains.

Someone like Misbah would allow easy single in the middle overs while someone like Dhoni would suffocate teams with part-time spinners.

In T20s, pretty much 12 out of 20 overs are fixed and do not vary from game to game. For Pakistan, Imad bowls his quota of 4 overs first up regardless of whether they are bowling first or defending 200 or 100, while more often than not, you will have pacers bowling in the last 3-4 overs.

The only management and flexibility that a captain exhibits is in the middle-half which is the shortest in T20s, and which is why it is the least tactical format with the minimal impact of captaincy.

Our great record in T20s does not show Sarfraz’s greatness as a tactician, but rather, the disparity between our performances across 20 overs and 50 overs exposes his captaincy.

Tests are quite different in this respect. Bowling changes are more or less set - you open with new ball bowlers, bring spinners on when the ball gets old and soft, bring pacers on if there is reverse on offer and bring your new ball bowlers back into the attack after the 80th over.

It is a highly repetitive process, and captaincy in that format is all about field placements and timing your declaration, and now the use of DRS has added a new dimension.

Sarfraz’s failures on all three fronts allowed Australia to escape with a respectable 1-0 rather than a humiliating 2-0.

However, these “facts” are too uncomfortable for the bakhts of captain fantastic. Much like the another dimension of captaincy - leading from the front, although the twin fifties in the second Test has given them some breathing space.

However still, they run over themselves when asked to explain why Sarfraz’s great management and in-game decisions could not result in a single win against the top ODI sides over the last 12 months. Even the Law of Averages failed to work for his tactical genius.

Then who should be the captain of current Pakistan team? What's your opinion?
I'd go with Imad but he is horrible with bat. Except Imad and Fakhar I don't think there is a good option available for captaincy.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Did you really write that???

The truth? Teams win with planning before the match through coaching and of course talent.

Warne/Gilchrist/Ponting/McGrath could all have been captain and they would have won.

Talent wins matches. Captaincy impacts matches but nothing like talent. That supersedes all.

Imran is the most overrated cricketer ever because he was the captain, just like Sarfraz who literally did nothing to help us win the CT.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

He is not wrong. Sarfraz has lost 7 out of 7 ODIs as captain in the last 12 months against high ranked opposition. Yes, a 100% losing record without any exceptions.

If he is that great a tactician and a leader, can anyone explain why he could not lead the team to a single win in those games? Not even one?

Not to mention his own form has been atrocious in Limited Overs.

Literally anyone in the team could have lead Pakistan to these 10 consecutive series wins in T20s, where half of the matches were against West Indies on slow pitches, Scotland, Sri Lanka and other joke series like the World XI tour.

I don’t see how those wins against England (1 match only, and his first as captain), New Zealand and Australia would have been defeats with someone else leading the team.

For me as I said, captaincy is important, but most of the time the more talented team wins.

Put the greatest captain of all time on Bangladesh, are they winning the WC? No. Why? They just don't have the talent. Captaincy could steal a couple of matches but most of the time when you make predictions, the best teams minus the chokers SA (which has nothing to do with captaincy) usually win.

That's why in a full series, versus one and done you rarely ever see upsets because talent outshines over an extended period of time.

Either way, Sarfraz is neither a good batsmen, keeper, or captain.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

It really is not.

A cricket captain has so many things to do and think about, any decision they make can change the game. It's not like being the captain of any other sports team where you just motivate them and give a few orders here and there, being a captain of a cricket team a tough job.

More often than not, talent wins.

WI isn't beating Australia in an ODI series no matter which captain they have in the history of cricket.

 

[Saj]

I saw him captaining at Pakistan A leveland he looked at sea and was looking towards the coach Basit Ali for guidance most of the time.

I'm not sure he is captaincy material as yet.

 

[Madplayer]

There isnt any t20i captaincy material in the team to replace Sarfaraz except Imad wasim

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

There isnt any t20i captaincy material in the team to replace Sarfaraz except Imad wasim

Sarfraz doesn't belong as a player, forget captaincy.

This may shock some people but scoring runs and performing has more of an impact than whatever captaincy skills people thinking Sarfraz has.

 

[waleed88]

Sarfraz doesn't belong as a player, forget captaincy.

This may shock some people but scoring runs and performing has more of an impact than whatever captaincy skills people thinking Sarfraz has.

You can either have a performing captain, but tactically inept - like Kohli, DeVillers, Amla, Inzi,

Or get a captain like Ganguly who's performances dipped by quite alot after he became captain but his team did really well...

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

You can either have a performing captain, but tactically inept - like Kohli, DeVillers, Amla, Inzi,

Or get a captain like Ganguly who's performances dipped by quite alot after he became captain but his team did really well...

Unfortunately we have one who does neither.

 

[Adil.farooqui]

I saw him captaining at Pakistan A leveland he looked at sea and was looking towards the coach Basit Ali for guidance most of the time.

I'm not sure he is captaincy material as yet.

Is he ready? Probably not.

Will there be a better opportunity to groom him, when each player has a clearly defined role? Most likely not.

Whether we like it or not, he will be handed the T20 reigns post 2020 World Cup. At a minimum, he should get a game or two as captain so that he knows what the pressure is like. Today was a good opportunity. Hopefully we will be up 2-0 in the NZ series and the management gives this some thought.

 

[waleed88]

Unfortunately we have one who does neither.

Yep all we need is someone like Afridi, who does both

 

[waleed88]

after all what happened in the t20 world cup 2016 isn't a distant memory, it was right after that Sarf took over if I'm not mistaken..

 

[Mamoon]

Then who should be the captain of current Pakistan team? What's your opinion?
I'd go with Imad but he is horrible with bat. Except Imad and Fakhar I don't think there is a good option available for captaincy.

I would bite the bullet and give it to Babar in Limited Overs. The first and second qualifications for captaincy are (1) making the team on merit and (2) leading from the front. Everything else is largely tied to the strength of the team.

Babar has his issues and hasn’t been able to impose himself on top opposition. I also don’t think he is an elite, all-time great level player, but he makes the team on 100% merit and is the most prolific scorer, which covers both the first and second qualifications. He is also in the age bracket where he can theoretically lead the team for a decade.

Sarfraz bakhts defend him by insisting that the results will not change if he is sacked, and I agree with them, but I would rather lose with a captain who is pulling his weight and setting the benchmark for his teammates, rather than a captain who hides in the dressing room, takes minimal responsibility as a player and selectively criticizes his teammates for performing better than him.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Yep all we need is someone like Afridi, who does both

You did this last time as well referring to something I didn't to deflect away from a poor point.

Did I mention Afridi? If you read up I have spoken about how people get excited for 1/20 Afridi performances and ignore all failures.

They're both bad.

Why the need to deflect and so poorly at that?

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

I would bite the bullet and give it to Babar in Limited Overs. The first and second qualifications for captaincy are (1) making the team on merit and (2) leading from the front. Everything else is largely tied to the strength of the team.

Babar has his issues and hasn’t been able to impose himself on top opposition. I also don’t think he is an elite, all-time great level player, but he makes the team on 100% merit and is the most prolific scorer, which covers both the first and second qualifications. He is also in the age bracket where he can theoretically lead the team for a decade.

Sarfraz bakhts defend him by insisting that the results will not change if he is sacked, and I agree with them, but I would rather lose with a captain who is pulling his weight and setting the benchmark for his teammates, rather than a captain who hides in the dressing room, takes minimal responsibility as a player and selectively criticizes his teammates for performing better than him.

See I don't know if Babar is captaincy material, but wouldn't mind Malik in the interim until the WC to see who shows leadership between that time.

With regard to Sarfraz, bang on. Another player who can bat and score runs would be a huge improvement. I'm not too good on who are good Pakistani keepers though. Rizwan was hit and miss to start his career and keeping wasn't the best.

 

[Syed1]

after all what happened in the t20 world cup 2016 isn't a distant memory, it was right after that Sarf took over if I'm not mistaken..

Hahaha... ok now we are blaming Sarf for loses when he wasn't even captain. Maybe before you run mouth go back and check Afridi was captain.

 

[ManFan]

I would refrain from making the best player in the team the captain. Every board across the world has followed that system and it has not worked well.

India: Kohli is a decent captain but his results are due to his individual stature and attritional bowlers.
England: Root has been an abject failure losing to the Windies and Pakistan at home while being 0-5-2 in AUS and NZ.
Australia: Same story as Kohli but Smith ultimately showcased his ineptitude at leadership by failing to put a leash on the mentality of his coach and bowlers.
New Zealand: Under Baz, they looked to cement themselves as the new reckoning force in world cricket while with Kane, they seem a lost cause.

Babar is not a leader but a follower. An individual who is comfortable in his bubble of scoring runs consistently and has no desire for power. It is perfectly normal and should remain so.

 

[Usman Chadda]

after all what happened in the t20 world cup 2016 isn't a distant memory, it was right after that Sarf took over if I'm not mistaken..

Hadd ho gayi hai )

Shahid Afridi was captain in the T20 World Cup 2016. This website should have an IQ and GK test before they let some of you post here.

 

[Mamoon]

Hahaha... ok now we are blaming Sarf for loses when he wasn't even captain. Maybe before you run mouth go back and check Afridi was captain.

Hadd ho gayi hai )

Shahid Afridi was captain in the T20 World Cup 2016. This website should have an IQ and GK test before they let some of you post here.

Or perhaps some of you should improve your reading and comprehension skills?

He clearly stated that Sarfraz took over as captain AFTER the World T20 2016. What prompted the confusion?

 

[shariqnoor]

No way. His batting tells you the mindset he possesses. Close to his milestone he shuts down all avenues of boundary scoring despite what the team requires. A great captain will always put the team in front of himself. I fear he will be as timid as a captain in times of adversity as he is while batting. You could see how timid he became when he was nearing his test century.

If anyone other than Sarfraz, right now my vote will always go to Imam-ul-Haq. Possesses an intelligent mind and thinks about match situations.

 

[waleed88]

You did this last time as well referring to something I didn't to deflect away from a poor point.

Did I mention Afridi? If you read up I have spoken about how people get excited for 1/20 Afridi performances and ignore all failures.

They're both bad.

Why the need to deflect and so poorly at that?

Not deflecting, perspective is required, when you mean a bad captain what exactly are you referring to? It's an abstract or a relative term to call someone a bad captain, considering our history and the captains that we have had since 2010 would you call - Misbah a great t20 captain? Afridi a great t20 captain? Hafeez? Sarfraz? Please elaborate

Your previous points were captaincy are overrated aspect of the game.... and it was pretty much the same point that you are pointing out right now?

If you have someone better in mind tell me.

Coz when I go back to the regime of Waqar, Afridi and his two jokers Shehzad and Akmal playing in the side, it makes me puke...

A captain who played 4 fast bowlers on dead indian pitches (Irfan,Wahab,Amir, Sami)

A t20 side that gets out for 80 all out in an asia cup match.

A player that complains to an ex-cricketer about not getting to play on the no.3 position..

A coach that starts to rant in the media soon after his team crashes out in the world cup...

A captain that makes a crazy comment about his arch rivals giving him more love than his own country...

 

[waleed88]

4/5 problems above are directly related to the captain...

Obviously it's very easy to hate the guy in the position of authority, but if Sarfraz is bad what will you call the tenure Afridi was in..

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

4/5 problems above are directly related to the captain...

Obviously it's very easy to hate the guy in the position of authority, but if Sarfraz is bad what will you call the tenure Afridi was in..

Bad as well? Why do you keep talking about Afridi whom I keep saying was a mediocre and overrated players.

Makes no sense. They can both be bad, how many times will I have to say it. You're making an awful and irrelevant point.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Not deflecting, perspective is required, when you mean a bad captain what exactly are you referring to? It's an abstract or a relative term to call someone a bad captain, considering our history and the captains that we have had since 2010 would you call - Misbah a great t20 captain? Afridi a great t20 captain? Hafeez? Sarfraz? Please elaborate

Your previous points were captaincy are overrated aspect of the game.... and it was pretty much the same point that you are pointing out right now?

If you have someone better in mind tell me.

Coz when I go back to the regime of Waqar, Afridi and his two jokers Shehzad and Akmal playing in the side, it makes me puke...

A captain who played 4 fast bowlers on dead indian pitches (Irfan,Wahab,Amir, Sami)

A t20 side that gets out for 80 all out in an asia cup match.

A player that complains to an ex-cricketer about not getting to play on the no.3 position..

A coach that starts to rant in the media soon after his team crashes out in the world cup...

A captain that makes a crazy comment about his arch rivals giving him more love than his own country...

No one is a better captain, but that's secondary. He is not worth it with performance with the bat. That is the most important value one brings to the team. You're literally calling him a full time captain ignoring the fact he's an average keeper and now a liability with the bat. Ignore the one offs and look at it holistically, Sarfraz doesn't perform and ducks coming up the order to save himself then yes, criticize him.

You're talking about all these other mediocre players and captains, that doesn't make Sarfraz any better or worse. You're focusing so much on captaincy when he's not scoring runs. Don't talk of Misbah or Afridi or anyone else, it's completely irrelevant. Those guys were also mediocre.

Who to replace him? Well since his captaincy is mediocre, put another keeper who can actually score runs. I'm not going to talk of his innings today and say oh he scored he's scoring, it's been a 2-3 year period of mediocrity with the bat, that's most important.

Scoring runs and fielding are more important than this full time captaincy you keep valuing so much.

Captaincy makes a difference but it's secondary to performance, which you keep ignoring.

Imran, Wasim, Inzi, great captains and players. MoYo bad captain but still excellent player. If he was a bad player and good captain, he doesn't belong on the team based on merit.

Malik would do no better to me than Sarfraz as interim captain until one of the kids starts to stand out and be replaced post WC. Not because I like Malik but because he's done it before, did a solid job, and has been performing with the bat. Since his return in 2015 he has a high 40 average going at a run a ball.

Our captain at the same time has a low 30s average with a 80SR and in the last two years a mid 20s average with a high 70SR.

The facts are there, you can choose to ignore them and overvalue captaincy as so valuable that it trumps the most important thing, performance, or you can actually dig deep and realize we have a player who doesn't score runs, consistently goes down the order so as to deflect blame, is not the best keeper, and has lived off of his players winning matches for him.

Sure, maybe he's made some good adjustments to win some matches, but are we to value that over fielding and batting? Nope.

Give me the performer on both sides of the ball over the full time captain.

Name me a captain who is only their to be a captain? You won't find one. They are usually the best of the best. Sarfraz is not even close to the best performer on his own team, let us not even get into the conversation of worlds best.

There are plenty of bad captains who are great players, but that is much more useful than the other way around. I'll take Sachin as captain versus Sarfraz as captain because guess what, as bad as he was at captaincy, he was an incredible batsmen and that bad captain was way more value able than whatever value you think Sarfraz brings.

Performance dictates merit. Captaincy should be given to a performer after you determine who are your performers, not leaders because they lead. And this too an overrated leader.
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

 

[mastersaan10]

Imad should be the next captain . Looked good in psl. In psl we should only have Pakistani captains, especially those who are current or to the very least Pakistan vc

 

[waleed88]

Bad as well? Why do you keep talking about Afridi whom I keep saying was a mediocre and overrated players.

Makes no sense. They can both be bad, how many times will I have to say it. You're making an awful and irrelevant point.

I see you completely ignored the episodes that happened during captaincy of Afridi and were keen to highlight the on-field exploits only.

A good captain doesn't neccessarily have issues on the pitch only, oath brigade is also a part of our history, a skipper involved in match fixing, a skipper (like Afridi) with no control over the dressing room. All are examples of bad captains.

Mohammad Yousuf lost the dressing room after the Sydney test, didn't even know which player was playing for the team or not. That is a bad captain.

His players atleast appear to be giving a 100% regardless of our status in test matches as no.6 -

Fact is, and these are facts, our team has struggled in limited overs cricket and Sarfraz has led them to no.1 rankings.

Facts (repeated and repeated to no ends) - Sarfraz has silverware under his belts, that trumps any other abstract definition of bad captains you want to highlights.

Sarfraz has taken a underrated quetta gladiators to the finals twice in PSL. Only to lose to the eventual finalists because of not having their foreign players toured to Pakistan... (By taken I don't mean his performances were exceptional, he played a few vital knocks here and there but nothing consistent) - by taking I mean taking responsibility of the team, masterminding a few crunch decisions in the end that trumped the game in his favor - bowling Cheema in one final, bowling Nawaz in another.

Please don't ignore facts - when you talk about captaincy - you would prefer a captain like Tendulkar or Sarfraz, conveniently forgetting Tendulkar's abysmal form as captain where he failed to perform in any of the games as captain in the 1999/00 VB series in Australia which had Pakistan and India.

Tendulkar's decision making was also questionable and India didn't even reach the finals of that series.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Or perhaps some of you should improve your reading and comprehension skills?

He clearly stated that Sarfraz took over as captain AFTER the World T20 2016. What prompted the confusion?

What's the point of blaming Sarfraz for Afridi's muck up?

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Darren Sammy(captain)made a grand total of 8 runs and took 2 wickets in the WT20 2016. Now try and recall the team that won that tournament.

 

[iPakistani]

Might be a bit off topic but has anyone else noticed Babar Azam has beefed up a bit, his chest looks much better now and arms are looking heavier.

 

[Mamoon]

No one is a better captain, but that's secondary. He is not worth it with performance with the bat. That is the most important value one brings to the team. You're literally calling him a full time captain ignoring the fact he's an average keeper and now a liability with the bat. Ignore the one offs and look at it holistically, Sarfraz doesn't perform and ducks coming up the order to save himself then yes, criticize him.

You're talking about all these other mediocre players and captains, that doesn't make Sarfraz any better or worse. You're focusing so much on captaincy when he's not scoring runs. Don't talk of Misbah or Afridi or anyone else, it's completely irrelevant. Those guys were also mediocre.

Who to replace him? Well since his captaincy is mediocre, put another keeper who can actually score runs. I'm not going to talk of his innings today and say oh he scored he's scoring, it's been a 2-3 year period of mediocrity with the bat, that's most important.

Scoring runs and fielding are more important than this full time captaincy you keep valuing so much.

Captaincy makes a difference but it's secondary to performance, which you keep ignoring.

Imran, Wasim, Inzi, great captains and players. MoYo bad captain but still excellent player. If he was a bad player and good captain, he doesn't belong on the team based on merit.

Malik would do no better to me than Sarfraz as interim captain until one of the kids starts to stand out and be replaced post WC. Not because I like Malik but because he's done it before, did a solid job, and has been performing with the bat. Since his return in 2015 he has a high 40 average going at a run a ball.

Our captain at the same time has a low 30s average with a 80SR and in the last two years a mid 20s average with a high 70SR.

The facts are there, you can choose to ignore them and overvalue captaincy as so valuable that it trumps the most important thing, performance, or you can actually dig deep and realize we have a player who doesn't score runs, consistently goes down the order so as to deflect blame, is not the best keeper, and has lived off of his players winning matches for him.

Sure, maybe he's made some good adjustments to win some matches, but are we to value that over fielding and batting? Nope.

Give me the performer on both sides of the ball over the full time captain.

Name me a captain who is only their to be a captain? You won't find one. They are usually the best of the best. Sarfraz is not even close to the best performer on his own team, let us not even get into the conversation of worlds best.

There are plenty of bad captains who are great players, but that is much more useful than the other way around. I'll take Sachin as captain versus Sarfraz as captain because guess what, as bad as he was at captaincy, he was an incredible batsmen and that bad captain was way more value able than whatever value you think Sarfraz brings.

Performance dictates merit. Captaincy should be given to a performer after you determine who are your performers, not leaders because they lead. And this too an overrated leader.
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

I fail to see what this team will lose if Sarfraz is replaced with a performing player. What exactly has captaincy done for us in the last 12 months?

After all, he has a 100% losing record in ODIs against quality teams, and mucked up the first Test vs. Australia with a delayed declaration, poor field-settings and poor use of the DRS.

 

[aukhan]

Sarfraz bubble will be finished after the 2019 WC. Someone from Babar/Imad/Fakhar/Shadab will be leading us.