Decision to sack Sarfaraz Ahmed and replace him as captain with Babar Azam proven correct?

[Savak]

Even i was skeptical whether Babar was the right choice for many reasons i.e. his quite, reserved nature, unapparent, non existent leadership skills and the fear that the added pressure could affect his batting

But there was no doubt that Sarfaraz couldn't stay and play just as a specialist captain anymore. The team needed a captain who atleast could be relied on to be a consistent performer which Sarfaraz wasn't. Sarfaraz in fact abused the security and guarantee the PCB provided him by making him captain in all formats. He chose to be relaxed, comfortable, laid back and not be worried about no one challenging him for his position in the team and as captain. We are seeing the effect of his unchallenged leadership with the Quetta Gladiators Franchise as well.

With Babar Azam, i now see a player and an an individual who is now growing confident in the role day by day and it is a big plus that he contributes and performs consistently with the bat. Atleast we have a captain who doesn't make Pakistan a laughing stock by behaving like a clown in the field constantly having a go at his bowlers and fielders. Babar is beginning to remind me of Kane Williamson and they way he leads the team very humbly and professionally unlike the fire mouth antics of Virat Kohli

 

[Liverpool_Faizan]

Long way to go. Nothing to suggest that his captaincy is a source of Pakistans recent limited success. Truthfully, its dificult to judge how good a captain from the outside. Things like strategic thinking, the confidence he gives his bowlers, pre match preparation, motivational talks in the dressing room etc are not seen by fans so it's difficult to see how good of a captain he is.

Success on the pitch is not necessarily correlated to how good a captain is. What i would love to see from him and Misbah is taking certain players including Rauf, Imam Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali to the next level. Not necessarily to a "world class" level but utilizing them in a way that helps Pakistan win games in the most efficient manner. That is using what you have and forming a winning game plan. I dont necessarily see this right now.

 

[TheNightWatchman]

I beg to differ. He has a very lacklustre presence on the field in my opinion. His Non animated style is misconstrued as behaving on the field when it's actually just not having enough confidence and having low energy.
Haris Rauf and him getting into a shouting match in the England T20 last year was a very bad look.
Waqar admitting that Misbah is incharge of team picking is also a very bad look and shows he can't stand to senior players
Sarfraz was doing a bunch of field placements when he was playing under Babar which just didn't look good.
His match awareness is nothing impressive. Pretty defensive captain. Not too much thinking outside the box.
He's Pakistan's MVP and pretty consistent so it made sense to make him captain but he's no natural born leader. His match awareness will improve with more experience hopefully. But he needs to stand up to the seniors on the team and management. This culture of respect for seniors above all else in Pakistan cricket needs to go and the onus is on him, especially since he's in a place where he's by far the best cricketer from Pakistan and indispensable asset. Also his presence on the field, talking to bowlers in certain situations needs to improve.

 

[Ahmed216]

Certainly an upgrade over sarfraz. Good to have world class player finally leading the side after Inzy.
Always good to have a captain who performs and demands the same from players.
Compared to average players top class players have completely different take on things like talent identification, performance levels of teammates, team goals etc
If he can be more authoritative in matters such as team selection he has the potential to pull Pak cricket out of mediocrity

 

[MenInG]

Important is for Babar to keep on performing on a personal level. Captaincy in Pakistan is overrated - we just dont have enough game winners, to be honest.

 

[Liverpool_Faizan]

Important is for Babar to keep on performing on a personal level. Captaincy in Pakistan is overrated - we just dont have enough game winners, to be honest.

that is where the test of his captaincy will come. How well can he utilize his players and get every ounce of good cricket from them when it matters. This is his and Misbah's biggest task.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Trashing Sarfaraz's legacy is not the way to build Babar's.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Shazzam]

Babar has yet to win us a ICC trophy. Unless he does that I won't consider him an upgrade over Sarfraz. So far he has not shown anything to suggest he is better besides his batting performances.

 

[umerz]

Long way to go. Team is not settled at all and Babar is yet to be tested against a good team in overseas/neutral conditions

 

[gazza619]

A captain is the best captain when he continues to perform despite the added pressure of captaincy.

Babar has also won us matches and has exceeded my expectations for sure.

 

[cricketfan11]

What was so good about Inzy being a captain?

He was one of the worst captains. He captained for a long time and Pakistan became an average to a below average team under him.

 

[cricketfan11]

As usual Pakistani fans are jumping to conclusions on the basis of a few series.
Let time take its course and then decide how good a captain Babar is. He will have to contend with media pressure, groupings, rifts with selectors etc. and how he handles that will be key. One thing to his advantage is that his place in the team is not disputed.
Sarfraz had weaknesses but the legacy he has left behind is the CT win plus sustained top level rankings in T20 which considering how mentally weak this team is, is quite remarkable.

 

[UzmanBeast]

If Babar had players like the Indian team does, we'd be praising his captaincy.

Most of our team is unreliable barring a few players, though that doesn't mean that his captaincy hasn't been flawed.

If he can rotate his bowlers well, and for once just think about why Shaheen shouldn't be bowling in the death, it would make him a better T20 captain.

He still hasn't understood that Shaheen gets carted around in the death more often than not. He needs to find a death overs bowler, or make one out of the current lot. The likes of Hasnain, Hasan, and Rauf aren't good at much themselves, but forcing Shaheen to become a death bowler will impact how he bowls with the new ball, where we arguably need him the most.

Hopefully some common sense prevails.

 

[Hasan123]

Sarfraz had to go. It doesn't matter how Babar does. Sarfraz was keeping a superior player in Rizwan out of the team. So Sarfraz didn't make the team on merit. So he can't be captain in that scenario lol.

 

[Bewal Express]

Important is for Babar to keep on performing on a personal level. Captaincy in Pakistan is overrated - we just dont have enough game winners, to be honest.

A good captain can make a tangible difference to a poor team with his relationships and tactical nous, neither Babar( evidence and sample are both limited) or Safaraz have that.

 

[IMMY69]

Thread title should read "decision to sack Safaraz as captain and replace him with Misbah"

 

[fasihulhaq94]

Babar has yet to win us a ICC trophy. Unless he does that I won't consider him an upgrade over Sarfraz. So far he has not shown anything to suggest he is better besides his batting performances.

sarfraz contribution to winning the ct17 was jack

 

[Maher96]

WK job in Pakistan is a hard job. Our bowlers are all over 140kph no keeper last longer than 3-4 years max same with rizwan.

It’s a harder job than many think add captaincy and batting to this... are u kidding me...


Why can’t we just appreciate what we had in Safraz, at the time. And when the correct time came Misbah moved on from Sarfraz , Ahmed and Umar.

If they performed int hat Sri Lanka series they would have all stayed and carried on.. when. You can’t beat that Sri lankan team at home then can’t blame anyone but yourself.

 

[Shazzam]

sarfraz contribution to winning the ct17 was jack

You don’t win a ICC trophy with poor captaincy. Sarfraz may not be a flavor of the month these days but no one can forget history. At his best he was an amazing captain that brought results.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Sarfraz had declined so much over the years, it was and still is an obvious & correct decision. Even if you quibble with Babar's captaincy, letting Sarfraz stay on as a captain was essentially one batter less and a specialist captain on the field.

It would also mean Rizwan would not be playing.

Sarfraz was the right man for the job years ago when he was in his prime and it was mostly a young inexperienced squad outside of Hafeez/Malik and he will forever be remembered for that CT17 but it was clear Pakistan needed to move on from him.

 

[Major]

Please change the thread title to babars captaincy uptil now.

Dont need tk thrash sarfraz ahmed. He was a bad captain and has been removed lets move on from him.

Babar is not a leader type material, pkus he cant come up with strategies.

Misbah is still leading the team, and for any captain that isnt good, because misbah cant make thw field changes or bowling chanes or guide the bowlers during thw match.

Ideally, should had been hafeez as captain, this babar captaincy will blow up sooner or later.

Captaincy matters when you are not picking wickets ans losing the plot and pakistan has had thia happen many times during the sa series

 

[asadee]

Please change the thread title to babars captaincy uptil now.

Dont need tk thrash sarfraz ahmed. He was a bad captain and has been removed lets move on from him.

Babar is not a leader type material, pkus he cant come up with strategies.

Misbah is still leading the team, and for any captain that isnt good, because misbah cant make thw field changes or bowling chanes or guide the bowlers during thw match.

Ideally, should had been hafeez as captain, this babar captaincy will blow up sooner or later.

Captaincy matters when you are not picking wickets ans losing the plot and pakistan has had thia happen many times during the sa series

Hafeez are you kidding me? In less than a run a ball required chase he decides to give catching practice knowing the lean batting resources left in the side and you want this guy to lead the side??

 

[Major]

Hafeez are you kidding me? In less than a run a ball required chase he decides to give catching practice knowing the lean batting resources left in the side and you want this guy to lead the side??

You bashed the guy on his batting when im talking about leadership here

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Well captaincy is another talk, but getting Rizwan in at the expanse of Sarfraz has been the correct decision.

Sarfraz had been a non performer for over 16-18 months then. His only inning of note was his 94 in the first inning of 2nd Test vs Australia in 2018. Apart from that, he was just there.

As far as captaincy is concerned, Babar is still growing and it does appear that Misbah is leading the team from the dugout(I personally don't have any problem with that as Misbah was a very very good tactician in tests), but Babar does need to take over the side completely soon.

Babar should simply be looking to keep going better as a batter, his personal batting has the ability to generate enough positive energy around the team to put up winning performances in a team with many passengers.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

You could have replaced Sarfraz with a mop as captain and it would have been an improvement.

Sarfraz was a passenger who wasn't good enough to be in the side as a player. So to have him as captain was absolutely ludicrous.

 

[Tabishbeigh]

Sarfaraz had his day under the sun and let’s move on from that. He won you an ICC tournament when no one expected, had it not rained Pakistan would have easily made it to the semis of WC 2019. Babar has a lot to catch-up on .
Besides what is that “dummy Captain” thing i heard about?

 

[Varun]

Sarfraz as captain of the CT 2017 was like Malinga in the WT20 2014. He was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time.

Other than that, his antics on the field in and the mental and verbal abuse of selective subordinates ensured that he is among the bottom rung of cricket captains of the 21st century.

 

[MenInG]

Babar needs to start performing himself or calls for his removal will start showing up soon.

 

[Smudger]

Babar needs to start performing himself or calls for his removal will start showing up soon.

What? Babar is performing. You cant question his personal performance. Though he needs to be more aware as captain. That Danish Aziz over costed 17 runs

 

[MenInG]

What? Babar is performing. You cant question his personal performance. Though he needs to be more aware as captain. That Danish Aziz over costed 17 runs

He is not performing at the level he is expected to.

Look either you are one of the best tacticians around or you lead from the front.

Atleast 2 times on the current Africa tour he has failed to stand up and take his side to a win.

 

[TheNightWatchman]

You could have replaced Sarfraz with a mop as captain and it would have been an improvement.

Sarfraz was a passenger who wasn't good enough to be in the side as a player. So to have him as captain was absolutely ludicrous.

Sarfraz may have been a passenger player but I will say this. He had atleast some presence of mind when it came to being a tactician. Surely he wasn't the best but he made do with his resources and atleast during the 'good' moments we had in the field in CT17 and WC19 you could see how some of his tactics came into affect.
Babar on the other hand looks an absolute dud when it comes to game awareness. He's been captain 1-2 years now, he should be getting the hang of it by now.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Sarfraz may have been a passenger player but I will say this. He had atleast some presence of mind when it came to being a tactician. Surely he wasn't the best but he made do with his resources and atleast during the 'good' moments we had in the field in CT17 and WC19 you could see how some of his tactics came into affect.
Babar on the other hand looks an absolute dud when it comes to game awareness. He's been captain 1-2 years now, he should be getting the hang of it by now.

I will agree with this because it was true.

The best captains aren't necessarily the best players. That statement will come into effect sooner or later with Babar.

Sarfaraz was a tactician and he was smart about it as well. He gave advice to the bowlers, telling them where to bowl and what to do.

The likes of Shadab Khan were only able to succeed at the international level because they had Sarfaraz to tell them where to bowl and what to bowl. That's a proven fact and you can see Shadab's regression since Sarfaraz was kicked out.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Sarfraz may have been a passenger player but I will say this. He had atleast some presence of mind when it came to being a tactician. Surely he wasn't the best but he made do with his resources and atleast during the 'good' moments we had in the field in CT17 and WC19 you could see how some of his tactics came into affect.
Babar on the other hand looks an absolute dud when it comes to game awareness. He's been captain 1-2 years now, he should be getting the hang of it by now.

What tactics? Tell me specific tactical decisions he made because it seems to me like you are just using an ambiguous term that no one can specifically put their finger on.

Bowling changes don't qualify as 'tactical decisions'. And when it comes to handling pressure Sarfraz is one of the absolute worst in the game simply because of the way he reacts with his incessant shouting. The role of a captain is to be the most calm and collected person on the field that gives his players confidence, not destroy it.

As far as the CT and WC goes, whenever Pakistan had an established combination and game plan, that is when they succeeded. That has nothing to do with technical prowess because that stuff was decided beforehand, and likely by Mickey Arthur rather than Sarfraz.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I will agree with this because it was true.

The best captains aren't necessarily the best players. That statement will come into effect sooner or later with Babar.

Sarfaraz was a tactician and he was smart about it as well. He gave advice to the bowlers, telling them where to bowl and what to do.

The likes of Shadab Khan were only able to succeed at the international level because they had Sarfaraz to tell them where to bowl and what to bowl. That's a proven fact and you can see Shadab's regression since Sarfaraz was kicked out.

Shouting at bowlers doesn't qualify as telling them where to bowl and where not to. And you think that, that makes someone a tactician or even a good captain? You think Mohammad Yousuf didn't tell bowlers where to bowl and where not to? C'mon man, gimme a break.

Being a tactician and being a good leader go hand in hand. Without being in control of your team you can never be in control of the game. Players look at the captain as the most calm and collected guy on the field: the man in control. That is what keeps them grounded and confident. With Sarfraz that was never the case. As soon as things got out of hand it as absolute chaos and Sarfraz, the captain was the most out of control guy on the field.

And as far as being a tactician goes, just because Pakistan hasn't had a smart captain at the helm for quite some time doesn't mean you start calling someone like Sarfraz a tactician. Being a tactician requires vision and sharp thinking.

Stephen Fleming was a tactician, Nasser Hussain was a tactician. If you wanna talk about today; Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan are tacticians. Sarfraz: not a tactician in any way.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Shouting at bowlers doesn't qualify as telling them where to bowl and where not to. And you think that, that makes someone a tactician or even a good captain? You think Mohammad Yousuf didn't tell bowlers where to bowl and where not to? C'mon man, gimme a break.

Being a tactician and being a good leader go hand in hand. Without being in control of your team you can never be in control of the game. Players look at the captain as the most calm and collected guy on the field: the man in control. That is what keeps them grounded and confident. With Sarfraz that was never the case. As soon as things got out of hand it as absolute chaos and Sarfraz, the captain was the most out of control guy on the field.

And as far as being a tactician goes, just because Pakistan hasn't had a smart captain at the helm for quite some time doesn't mean you start calling someone like Sarfraz a tactician. Being a tactician requires vision and sharp thinking.

Stephen Fleming was a tactician, Nasser Hussain was a tactician. If you wanna talk about today; Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan are tacticians. Sarfraz: not a tactician in any way.

Sarfaraz despite his issues on the field under pressure was still a far better leader than Babar Azam. You look at the players Sarfaraz had to work with and develop, the likes of Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali all excelled under Sarfaraz.

As I stated, our spinners were only successful in that time period because they were being spoonfed as to where to bowl. The example of Shadab Khan sits in front of us, once a very good prospect with the ball and now he's unreliable with the ball, leaks runs, and doesn't take wickets at all.

You see, discrediting Sarfaraz by saying that he shouted from behind the stumps does not change the fact that our bowling flourished under his captaincy. Sarfaraz may have been a liability with his form at the time, but one thing we can't say is that he didn't have a cricketing IQ, he did.

It was under his captaincy that we became the number one ranked T20 team and won the Champions Trophy as well. If Pakistan had qualified for the semi-finals in the World Cup, nobody would have complained about Sarfaraz at all.

You can see for yourself how poorly Babar manages his bowlers, forcing Shaheen to bowl in the death where his economy rate exceeds 10. Additionally, when his bowlers are bowling well (like Nawaz in South Africa), he wouldn't let them finish their bowling spells.

The point is that Sarfaraz kept himself engaged with whatever the bowlers were doing, and to me he seemed more involved in the bowling plans as opposed to Babar, who I rarely find talking with the bowlers. Maybe Sarfaraz was excessively involved, but a lot of good bowling performances came under his leadership so maybe we should learn to give credit where it's due.

Fans are blinded by the fact that Babar is a world-class batsman, but forget that the best players are not always the best captains. If Babar had leadership qualities, surely he'd be captain of Karachi Kings? Why did Karachi Kings pick Imad ahead of Babar if Babar was such an astonishingly good leader? I think we both know the answer to that question.

However, I will mention that Sarfaraz did have his own issues in leadership. It got irritating for bowlers being told constantly what they had to do, and we saw this in the PSL as well. He did, however, give good advice from time to time.

In my opinion, given how poorly our side has performed in recent times, it makes sacking Sarfaraz look like a pathetic and needless decision because unfortunately, our team has not improved in these past two years at all.

That's a fact you need to accept, sooner or later we'll be back at square one after two years of claiming to move in a better direction. We'll end up with Malik, Wahab, Imad, Amir, and Sarfaraz all back in the team sooner or later, the exact same position we were in before that fateful T20 series against Sri Lanka. If you don't think there's something messed up about that, you might need to look at it from the perspective that all the changes we made, all the so-called "talented" players we brought into the team did not stick around, and we essentially wasted two years in changing things for no reason, only to end up in a much worse position than we would have been had we stuck with the same pool of players and allowed them to develop.

 

[srh]

I dont like this idea of make you best player captain as well.

 

[A.A.Z]

Sarfaraz despite his issues on the field under pressure was still a far better leader than Babar Azam. You look at the players Sarfaraz had to work with and develop, the likes of Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali all excelled under Sarfaraz.

As I stated, our spinners were only successful in that time period because they were being spoonfed as to where to bowl. The example of Shadab Khan sits in front of us, once a very good prospect with the ball and now he's unreliable with the ball, leaks runs, and doesn't take wickets at all.

You see, discrediting Sarfaraz by saying that he shouted from behind the stumps does not change the fact that our bowling flourished under his captaincy. Sarfaraz may have been a liability with his form at the time, but one thing we can't say is that he didn't have a cricketing IQ, he did.

It was under his captaincy that we became the number one ranked T20 team and won the Champions Trophy as well. If Pakistan had qualified for the semi-finals in the World Cup, nobody would have complained about Sarfaraz at all.

You can see for yourself how poorly Babar manages his bowlers, forcing Shaheen to bowl in the death where his economy rate exceeds 10. Additionally, when his bowlers are bowling well (like Nawaz in South Africa), he wouldn't let them finish their bowling spells.

The point is that Sarfaraz kept himself engaged with whatever the bowlers were doing, and to me he seemed more involved in the bowling plans as opposed to Babar, who I rarely find talking with the bowlers. Maybe Sarfaraz was excessively involved, but a lot of good bowling performances came under his leadership so maybe we should learn to give credit where it's due.

Fans are blinded by the fact that Babar is a world-class batsman, but forget that the best players are not always the best captains. If Babar had leadership qualities, surely he'd be captain of Karachi Kings? Why did Karachi Kings pick Imad ahead of Babar if Babar was such an astonishingly good leader? I think we both know the answer to that question.

However, I will mention that Sarfaraz did have his own issues in leadership. It got irritating for bowlers being told constantly what they had to do, and we saw this in the PSL as well. He did, however, give good advice from time to time.

In my opinion, given how poorly our side has performed in recent times, it makes sacking Sarfaraz look like a pathetic and needless decision because unfortunately, our team has not improved in these past two years at all.

That's a fact you need to accept, sooner or later we'll be back at square one after two years of claiming to move in a better direction. We'll end up with Malik, Wahab, Imad, Amir, and Sarfaraz all back in the team sooner or later, the exact same position we were in before that fateful T20 series against Sri Lanka. If you don't think there's something messed up about that, you might need to look at it from the perspective that all the changes we made, all the so-called "talented" players we brought into the team did not stick around, and we essentially wasted two years in changing things for no reason, only to end up in a much worse position than we would have been had we stuck with the same pool of players and allowed them to develop.

Great post! POTW

For all his shortcomings Sarfaraz was one of the better tacticians we've had in recent in recent times.

To overlook his 2 ICC trophies, No.1 T20 ranking and 3 PSL finals just reeks of bias. The fact that he achieved these things while being a limited player himself just shows his worth as captain.

Even when he was being derided for losing his cool in the PSL this year he was the only captain who was able to finally defend a target in the last game before the league was halted.

People can be oblivious to these facts but if you've been too enough Pakistan games and played cricket at a certain level you learn to appreciate how much better Sarfaraz was then all the other captains we've had in the last decade.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Sarfaraz despite his issues on the field under pressure was still a far better leader than Babar Azam. You look at the players Sarfaraz had to work with and develop, the likes of Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali all excelled under Sarfaraz.

As I stated, our spinners were only successful in that time period because they were being spoonfed as to where to bowl. The example of Shadab Khan sits in front of us, once a very good prospect with the ball and now he's unreliable with the ball, leaks runs, and doesn't take wickets at all.

You see, discrediting Sarfaraz by saying that he shouted from behind the stumps does not change the fact that our bowling flourished under his captaincy. Sarfaraz may have been a liability with his form at the time, but one thing we can't say is that he didn't have a cricketing IQ, he did.

It was under his captaincy that we became the number one ranked T20 team and won the Champions Trophy as well. If Pakistan had qualified for the semi-finals in the World Cup, nobody would have complained about Sarfaraz at all.

You can see for yourself how poorly Babar manages his bowlers, forcing Shaheen to bowl in the death where his economy rate exceeds 10. Additionally, when his bowlers are bowling well (like Nawaz in South Africa), he wouldn't let them finish their bowling spells.

The point is that Sarfaraz kept himself engaged with whatever the bowlers were doing, and to me he seemed more involved in the bowling plans as opposed to Babar, who I rarely find talking with the bowlers. Maybe Sarfaraz was excessively involved, but a lot of good bowling performances came under his leadership so maybe we should learn to give credit where it's due.

Fans are blinded by the fact that Babar is a world-class batsman, but forget that the best players are not always the best captains. If Babar had leadership qualities, surely he'd be captain of Karachi Kings? Why did Karachi Kings pick Imad ahead of Babar if Babar was such an astonishingly good leader? I think we both know the answer to that question.

However, I will mention that Sarfaraz did have his own issues in leadership. It got irritating for bowlers being told constantly what they had to do, and we saw this in the PSL as well. He did, however, give good advice from time to time.

In my opinion, given how poorly our side has performed in recent times, it makes sacking Sarfaraz look like a pathetic and needless decision because unfortunately, our team has not improved in these past two years at all.

That's a fact you need to accept, sooner or later we'll be back at square one after two years of claiming to move in a better direction. We'll end up with Malik, Wahab, Imad, Amir, and Sarfaraz all back in the team sooner or later, the exact same position we were in before that fateful T20 series against Sri Lanka. If you don't think there's something messed up about that, you might need to look at it from the perspective that all the changes we made, all the so-called "talented" players we brought into the team did not stick around, and we essentially wasted two years in changing things for no reason, only to end up in a much worse position than we would have been had we stuck with the same pool of players and allowed them to develop.

Quite ridiculous to compare Sarfraz to Babar. The jury is not out on Babar yet. It will be once he's sacked or once he has some years under his belt. Babar was much younger than Sarfraz when he became captain and its unrealistic to expect anything from him for the foreseeable future. He needs to get a lot more games under his belt, be in more pressure-situations against big teams for anyone to see how he does, and whether he even learns from his mistakes for anyone to make a proper judgment on him.

Many players get thrust into the role of captain but grow in that role over time. The best example is Jason Holder who became a very good captain despite having a turbulent start in back 2015.

You're really overstating Sarfraz's role when you say he was somehow responsible for the rise of players like Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali; just because they did well when he was captain. By that analogy you could call many atrocious captains in history master tacticians just because some good players managed to breakthrough during their tenures.

And as far as I remember, Inzamam picked these guys and Mickey groomed them. Because it was Mickey who was saying in press-conferences that they were trying to make Faheem Ashraf a reliable seam-bowling all-rounder, or that Shadab was a future captain, or that they were trying to assign specific roles to specific players. Also, here's what Imad said about Mickey (not Sarfraz) on this website:

“He helped me immensely with my cricket and worked very hard on my batting skills. I got along very well with him and will always be grateful to him for his faith in me and his insistence on keeping me in the side.”

I never heard any talk from Sarfraz that ever gave me the impression that he actually had a vision, or that he was even at the helm. Mickey on the other hand had a strong personality and a vision, when you heard him speak you felt that he had an idea of where he wanted the team to go. So I 100% buy into what was the prevailing perception during that time that it was Mickey and Inzamam who were running the show, not Sarfraz. And are you forgetting about all the press-conferences where Sarfraz literally used to sit poker-faced as Mickey fielded most of the questions?

I also find it hard to believe that someone as meek and unconfident as Sarfraz, who spent most of his tenure struggling for his own form had any substantial role in grooming 'youngsters' beyond screaming at Shadab on where he should or shouldn't bowl and scolding fielders only to drop a catch himself a few overs later. And his consistent chatter rubbed Hasan Ali the wrong way once in New Zealand.

You're off-base on a number of points. For one thing Pakistan were still a mediocre side during Sarfraz's captaincy that lost most ODI and Test series. Pakistan consistently had some of the worst cumulative bowling averages in the world during that period, though the batting did improve from previous years (no thanks to Sarfraz). Any success that Pakistan did experience during that period (in ICC tournaments), I attribute to Mickey and Inzamam, just as I attribute some of our biggest series losses during that period to them. Because it was Inzamam picking the squads and Mickey making the strategy. They are also the ones most responsible for building a new team for the future (especially Arthur), Sarfraz was just lucky to be captain.

And as far as him coming back to the side is concerned, I don't see it happening. He is in his mid-30s, has been badly out of form for the better part of 3 years and only seems to be getting worse with the bat because now he can't even buy a run in PSL and domestic. The only reason he managed to stay in the side as long as he even did was because of the goodwill he had accumulated during his tenure. He wasn't abrasive or controversial and didn't rub any important people the wrong way.

 

[Savak]

Sarfaraz as captain can be summed up in his QG stint

 

[UzmanBeast]

Quite ridiculous to compare Sarfraz to Babar. The jury is not out on Babar yet. It will be once he's sacked or once he has some years under his belt. Babar was much younger than Sarfraz when he became captain and its unrealistic to expect anything from him for the foreseeable future. He needs to get a lot more games under his belt, be in more pressure-situations against big teams for anyone to see how he does, and whether he even learns from his mistakes for anyone to make a proper judgment on him.

Many players get thrust into the role of captain but grow in that role over time. The best example is Jason Holder who became a very good captain despite having a turbulent start in back 2015.

You're really overstating Sarfraz's role when you say he was somehow responsible for the rise of players like Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali; just because they did well when he was captain. By that analogy you could call many atrocious captains in history master tacticians just because some good players managed to breakthrough during their tenures.

And as far as I remember, Inzamam picked these guys and Mickey groomed them. Because it was Mickey who was saying in press-conferences that they were trying to make Faheem Ashraf a reliable seam-bowling all-rounder, or that Shadab was a future captain, or that they were trying to assign specific roles to specific players. Also, here's what Imad said about Mickey (not Sarfraz) on this website:

“He helped me immensely with my cricket and worked very hard on my batting skills. I got along very well with him and will always be grateful to him for his faith in me and his insistence on keeping me in the side.”

I never heard any talk from Sarfraz that ever gave me the impression that he actually had a vision, or that he was even at the helm. Mickey on the other hand had a strong personality and a vision, when you heard him speak you felt that he had an idea of where he wanted the team to go. So I 100% buy into what was the prevailing perception during that time that it was Mickey and Inzamam who were running the show, not Sarfraz. And are you forgetting about all the press-conferences where Sarfraz literally used to sit poker-faced as Mickey fielded most of the questions?

I also find it hard to believe that someone as meek and unconfident as Sarfraz, who spent most of his tenure struggling for his own form had any substantial role in grooming 'youngsters' beyond screaming at Shadab on where he should or shouldn't bowl and scolding fielders only to drop a catch himself a few overs later. And his consistent chatter rubbed Hasan Ali the wrong way once in New Zealand.

You're off-base on a number of points. For one thing Pakistan were still a mediocre side during Sarfraz's captaincy that lost most ODI and Test series. Pakistan consistently had some of the worst cumulative bowling averages in the world during that period, though the batting did improve from previous years (no thanks to Sarfraz). Any success that Pakistan did experience during that period (in ICC tournaments), I attribute to Mickey and Inzamam, just as I attribute some of our biggest series losses during that period to them. Because it was Inzamam picking the squads and Mickey making the strategy. They are also the ones most responsible for building a new team for the future (especially Arthur), Sarfraz was just lucky to be captain.

And as far as him coming back to the side is concerned, I don't see it happening. He is in his mid-30s, has been badly out of form for the better part of 3 years and only seems to be getting worse with the bat because now he can't even buy a run in PSL and domestic. The only reason he managed to stay in the side as long as he even did was because of the goodwill he had accumulated during his tenure. He wasn't abrasive or controversial and didn't rub any important people the wrong way.

Pakistani fans will always keep a soft spot for Babar regardless of the incompetent decisions he takes on the field. His review-taking, his rotation of bowlers, and his use of bowlers is all questionable. It does not take IQ or experience to know not to bowl Shaheen in the death where his economy rate is excess of 10. Rather, it takes common sense and observation to know.

Secondly, on the topic of vision, what vision have you seen with Babar? What does he say in press conferences except "we want to play aggressive cricket" and then proceeds to get humbled by a DEPLETED Zimbabwe team.

Bowlers tend to do well under captains who understand where nd when to use them. If a captain can't see that one of his prime bowlers is struggling in the death, then that's not a captain. Knowing the skillset of the bowlers is quite important and I don't see Babar managing the bowlers well at all. Keep in mind it's only recently that he stopped bowling Haris in the powerplay after dozens upon dozens of failures in the role.

I do agree that Mickey was a good coach, he didn't deserve to be dropped for some guy like Misbah.

The point is judge Babar the same way you judged Sarfaraz and you'll quite clearly see who has better leadership skills. I have never heard anyone praise Babar's leadershop skills, rather I have heard people throw heaps of praise on guys like Shadab and their leadership skills.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Pakistani fans will always keep a soft spot for Babar regardless of the incompetent decisions he takes on the field. His review-taking, his rotation of bowlers, and his use of bowlers is all questionable. It does not take IQ or experience to know not to bowl Shaheen in the death where his economy rate is excess of 10. Rather, it takes common sense and observation to know.

Secondly, on the topic of vision, what vision have you seen with Babar? What does he say in press conferences except "we want to play aggressive cricket" and then proceeds to get humbled by a DEPLETED Zimbabwe team.

Bowlers tend to do well under captains who understand where nd when to use them. If a captain can't see that one of his prime bowlers is struggling in the death, then that's not a captain. Knowing the skillset of the bowlers is quite important and I don't see Babar managing the bowlers well at all. Keep in mind it's only recently that he stopped bowling Haris in the powerplay after dozens upon dozens of failures in the role.

I do agree that Mickey was a good coach, he didn't deserve to be dropped for some guy like Misbah.

The point is judge Babar the same way you judged Sarfaraz and you'll quite clearly see who has better leadership skills. I have never heard anyone praise Babar's leadershop skills, rather I have heard people throw heaps of praise on guys like Shadab and their leadership skills.

I don't know why you keep comparing Babar to Sarfraz when I've told you the jury is not out on him yet. He has been captain in all three format of 5 months. Sarfraz was captain for 4 years. And considering the shockingly low bar that Sarfraz set for captaincy its better if he's not compared to Sarfraz at all if he ever wants to be anything.

He may not be a good captain now but its premature to judge him because of how early it is.

Pakistani fans will always have a soft spot of Babar because Babar is a world-class talent that has endeared himself to millions. He will have more chances to find himself as captain. Unlike Sarfraz who is a mediocre player who struggled to justify his own position in the team as captain and who never should have played for Pakistan as long; not to mention someone who came off as a highly unlikable personality on-screen.

 

[UzmanBeast]

I don't know why you keep comparing Babar to Sarfraz when I've told you the jury is not out on him yet. He has been captain in all three format of 5 months. Sarfraz was captain for 4 years. And considering the shockingly low bar that Sarfraz set for captaincy its better if he's not compared to Sarfraz at all if he ever wants to be anything.

He may not be a good captain now but its premature to judge him because of how early it is.

Pakistani fans will always have a soft spot of Babar because Babar is a world-class talent that has endeared himself to millions. He will have more chances to find himself as captain. Unlike Sarfraz who is a mediocre player who struggled to justify his own position in the team as captain and who never should have played for Pakistan as long; not to mention someone who came off as a highly unlikable personality on-screen.

It's not us who decides when the jury is out on a captain. Babar should be judged on his captaincy because if he keeps making these stupid blunders and mistakes, he won't be a good captain in the future. He will be compared to Sarfaraz because since he took over the team from Sarfaraz, there have been no notable improvements in the quality of cricket we play. That's a fact that people need to accept.

It's been long enough to start putting some judgement on his captaincy. If we wait for four years like you are saying without judging his captaincy, he will not have the criticism or feedback to improve in that aspect of the game, so your point about not judging him makes no sense.

Again, Sarfaraz may have been a mediocre player but nothing in Babar's captaincy suggests that he is a better captain than Sarfaraz. That's the point of debate. I don't care for performances when the topic of discussion is their capacity to captain a side. Neither of them is above each other, and neither of them are good captains. Just because Babar is a better batsman doesn't mean that we overlook his failures to execute and set plans in the field. His captaincy has been quite poor to say the least.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

It's not us who decides when the jury is out on a captain. Babar should be judged on his captaincy because if he keeps making these stupid blunders and mistakes, he won't be a good captain in the future. He will be compared to Sarfaraz because since he took over the team from Sarfaraz, there have been no notable improvements in the quality of cricket we play. That's a fact that people need to accept.

It's been long enough to start putting some judgement on his captaincy. If we wait for four years like you are saying without judging his captaincy, he will not have the criticism or feedback to improve in that aspect of the game, so your point about not judging him makes no sense.

Again, Sarfaraz may have been a mediocre player but nothing in Babar's captaincy suggests that he is a better captain than Sarfaraz. That's the point of debate. I don't care for performances when the topic of discussion is their capacity to captain a side. Neither of them is above each other, and neither of them are good captains. Just because Babar is a better batsman doesn't mean that we overlook his failures to execute and set plans in the field. His captaincy has been quite poor to say the least.

LOL do you really want to go in that direction? If so, than don't discount the fact that Babar hasn't lost a single series so far as captain. So therefore he is a more successful captain than Sarfraz. And anything you say about his role on the field is subjective as long as Pakistan is winning. Just because YOU don't like specific things he is doing doesn't automatically make him a terrible captain in the eyes of most people.

For the record, I don't think Babar is a good captain but I needed to show you how ridiculous your argument of comparing the two was. Its like comparing a young batsman with a handful of games under his belt to someone who has been playing for 5 years. And I never said we shouldn't judge his captaincy. Don't just make things up. I think he deserves the same patience that a mediocre street-cricketer like Sarfraz got and should be persisted with even if he fails a few times.

Hate to keep repeating myself but I would rather take a guy who actually has the potential to improve and go somewhere over an obnoxious, loud, mediocre street-cricketer who can't keep his cool, have any control of his team or realistically command any respect from them. How are you supposed to respect someone who doesn't even deserve to be in the team in the first place?

 

[The cricket enthusiast]

Seems like karachi lobby is on full swing on twitter ..
Some journalist claiming that sarfraz was selected to indirectly lead the side as babar inability to take decisions when going gets tough.

 

[UzmanBeast]

LOL do you really want to go in that direction? If so, than don't discount the fact that Babar hasn't lost a single series so far as captain. So therefore he is a more successful captain than Sarfraz. And anything you say about his role on the field is subjective as long as Pakistan is winning. Just because YOU don't like specific things he is doing doesn't automatically make him a terrible captain in the eyes of most people.

For the record, I don't think Babar is a good captain but I needed to show you how ridiculous your argument of comparing the two was. Its like comparing a young batsman with a handful of games under his belt to someone who has been playing for 5 years. And I never said we shouldn't judge his captaincy. Don't just make things up. I think he deserves the same patience that a mediocre street-cricketer like Sarfraz got and should be persisted with even if he fails a few times.

Hate to keep repeating myself but I would rather take a guy who actually has the potential to improve and go somewhere over an obnoxious, loud, mediocre street-cricketer who can't keep his cool, have any control of his team or realistically command any respect from them. How are you supposed to respect someone who doesn't even deserve to be in the team in the first place?

You can keep bringing up Babar winning series against D teams and it won't matter because I can do the same with Sarfaraz.

I have no interest in defending Sarfaraz, but it's quite stupid to claim that Babar is a better captain when he demonstrates barely any leadership skills.

Take T20 cricket for example, Babar has played about 50-ish games and Sarfaraz played 60. Are you suggesting that it is dumb to compare them when Babar has captained Pakistan in 21 games and Sarfaraz at 37? Had Babar been captain for 1 series I wouldn't be judging but listen to your own argument first. A classic issue of not being willing to look at the faults in a player just because they are good.

Never in my argument did I say that I wanted Sarfaraz back, so there's no point in talking about that. My argument is plain and simple yet you choose to ignore almost every aspect of it. In his 21 games so far, Babar has not demonstrated that he is an improvement to captaincy when compared with Sarfaraz Ahmed, and given that you said the bar was already low given Sarfaraz somehow captained the team, I think you of all people should understand where this discussion is going.

Babar was not an improvement as a captain, in terms of leadership skill and ability, to Sarfaraz Ahmed. He is a better choice clearly given that he actually scores runs with the bat, but his leadership skills are at the same level if not lower in some areas.

That's my argument. I don't care about bringing Sarfaraz back into the team, I'm simply stating the facts which people aren't ready to accept.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

You can keep bringing up Babar winning series against D teams and it won't matter because I can do the same with Sarfaraz.

I have no interest in defending Sarfaraz, but it's quite stupid to claim that Babar is a better captain when he demonstrates barely any leadership skills.

Take T20 cricket for example, Babar has played about 50-ish games and Sarfaraz played 60. Are you suggesting that it is dumb to compare them when Babar has captained Pakistan in 21 games and Sarfaraz at 37? Had Babar been captain for 1 series I wouldn't be judging but listen to your own argument first. A classic issue of not being willing to look at the faults in a player just because they are good.

Never in my argument did I say that I wanted Sarfaraz back, so there's no point in talking about that. My argument is plain and simple yet you choose to ignore almost every aspect of it. In his 21 games so far, Babar has not demonstrated that he is an improvement to captaincy when compared with Sarfaraz Ahmed, and given that you said the bar was already low given Sarfaraz somehow captained the team, I think you of all people should understand where this discussion is going.

Babar was not an improvement as a captain, in terms of leadership skill and ability, to Sarfaraz Ahmed. He is a better choice clearly given that he actually scores runs with the bat, but his leadership skills are at the same level if not lower in some areas.

That's my argument. I don't care about bringing Sarfaraz back into the team, I'm simply stating the facts which people aren't ready to accept.

Talking to you is like banging one's head against a brick wall.

I'm not going to keep repeating everything I've said multiple times.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Seems like karachi lobby is on full swing on twitter ..
Some journalist claiming that sarfraz was selected to indirectly lead the side as babar inability to take decisions when going gets tough.

Karachi lobby works overtime to keep Sarfraz relevant. But despite their best efforts Sarfraz is no longer relevant. The only reason he is still playing is because of the terrible squad Wasim has selected. His days in the Pakistan shirt are numbered.

 

[Shazzam]

I don't know why you keep comparing Babar to Sarfraz when I've told you the jury is not out on him yet. He has been captain in all three format of 5 months. Sarfraz was captain for 4 years. And considering the shockingly low bar that Sarfraz set for captaincy its better if he's not compared to Sarfraz at all if he ever wants to be anything.

Ok don’t mean to intrude on your discussion. All I wanna say is I don’t think you need 4 years to judge a captain’s captaincy skills. Before these players become captain they have many years of captaincy under there belt in cricket before them. Sarfraz for example right away made an impact when he first became a captain. When it comes to captaincy you either have it or you don’t. At the moment it feels like Babar alone is not doing his captaincy on the field I see many other heads on the ground speaking for him. Thats not a sigh of a good captain.

Now the question is should we give Babar more time as a captain to see if he will develop into a better one? Yes we can. However we can judge his captaincy with in the five months he has been captain.

 

[The cricket enthusiast]

Karachi lobby works overtime to keep Sarfraz relevant. But despite their best efforts Sarfraz is no longer relevant. The only reason he is still playing is because of the terrible squad Wasim has selected. His days in the Pakistan shirt are numbered.

It's even more mind boggling to hear from someone like Shoaib akhtar as per this wanna be chairman of PCB rizwan is best utilise at no.5 in t20i's

 

[Farabi]

You can keep bringing up Babar winning series against D teams and it won't matter because I can do the same with Sarfaraz.

I have no interest in defending Sarfaraz, but it's quite stupid to claim that Babar is a better captain when he demonstrates barely any leadership skills.

Take T20 cricket for example, Babar has played about 50-ish games and Sarfaraz played 60. Are you suggesting that it is dumb to compare them when Babar has captained Pakistan in 21 games and Sarfaraz at 37? Had Babar been captain for 1 series I wouldn't be judging but listen to your own argument first. A classic issue of not being willing to look at the faults in a player just because they are good.

Never in my argument did I say that I wanted Sarfaraz back, so there's no point in talking about that. My argument is plain and simple yet you choose to ignore almost every aspect of it. In his 21 games so far, Babar has not demonstrated that he is an improvement to captaincy when compared with Sarfaraz Ahmed, and given that you said the bar was already low given Sarfaraz somehow captained the team, I think you of all people should understand where this discussion is going.

Babar was not an improvement as a captain, in terms of leadership skill and ability, to Sarfaraz Ahmed. He is a better choice clearly given that he actually scores runs with the bat, but his leadership skills are at the same level if not lower in some areas.

That's my argument. I don't care about bringing Sarfaraz back into the team, I'm simply stating the facts which people aren't ready to accept.

Just some questions for you buddy:

On leadership:
How do you define leadership skills? Which of those skills specifically did you see in Sarfaraz's captaincy that you haven't seen in Babar's?
How long do experts say it take for someone to groom into a leadership role?

On Sarfaraz:
While Pakistan's T20 outfit did well in Sarfaraz's captaincy, which he deserves credit for. But his own form completely tanked. Why do you think that happened? Can a player command respect when he cant even keep his place in the side?
Sarfaraz not only lost his form but also his fitness as evident in the U19 WC. Who was responsible for that? Does that command any confidence in the personality to inspire others to be fit.
Experts say that the test of leadership is more evident in longer formats. Do you give Sarfaraz any responsibility for Pakistan's declining fortunes in ODIs and Test teams under his leadership?

On Babar:
In a short period of Babar's leadership, Pak won its first away ODI series against a top 5 side where the skipper led from the front scoring centuries in both of the games Pak won. Could Sarfaraz have done that?
Babar's batting has gone a notch above after getting the captaincy. What does that show?
Babar is supremely fit. What does that show? Is he better placed to request others to follow suit?
Pakistan won its first significant test series against a strong SA side. What does that exhibit so early in his captaincy stint?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Ok don’t mean to intrude on your discussion. All I wanna say is I don’t think you need 4 years to judge a captain’s captaincy skills. Before these players become captain they have many years of captaincy under there belt in cricket before them. Sarfraz for example right away made an impact when he first became a captain. When it comes to captaincy you either have it or you don’t. At the moment it feels like Babar alone is not doing his captaincy on the field I see many other heads on the ground speaking for him. Thats not a sigh of a good captain.

Now the question is should we give Babar more time as a captain to see if he will develop into a better one? Yes we can. However we can judge his captaincy with in the five months he has been captain.

Tell that to Jason Holder who was like a fish out of water in his several first few years as captain. However he grew into that role and became a very good captain. In the process he became one of the best all-rounders in the world too. Point is people can grow in certain roles given the circumstances, even though it may seem like they are not cut out for the job at first.

Which is why I think 5 months is way too less of a time to start comparing him to Sarfraz or any captain for that matter. I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out his shortcomings but to pass a final judgment on him as captain like OP was, is frankly ridiculous.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

It's even more mind boggling to hear from someone like Shoaib akhtar as per this wanna be chairman of PCB rizwan is best utilise at no.5 in t20i's

Shoaib Akhtar has no credibility. I roll my eyes when people refer to him as an 'analyst'. His entire game is making sensationalist, attention-grabbing statements every few weeks to make the headlines and stay relevant. He will say anything if it helps him.

 

[The cricket enthusiast]

Shoaib Akhtar has no credibility. I roll my eyes when people refer to him as an 'analyst'. His entire game is making sensationalist, attention-grabbing statements every few weeks to make the headlines and stay relevant. He will say anything if it helps him.

ThankGod he and rameez are far far away from IPL.. ESPECIALLY Rameez .. remember he getting carried away with one of female anchor

 

[Bigboii]

Tell that to Jason Holder who was like a fish out of water in his several first few years as captain. However he grew into that role and became a very good captain. In the process he became one of the best all-rounders in the world too. Point is people can grow in certain roles given the circumstances, even though it may seem like they are not cut out for the job at first.

Which is why I think 5 months is way too less of a time to start comparing him to Sarfraz or any captain for that matter. I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out his shortcomings but to pass a final judgment on him as captain like OP was, is frankly ridiculous.

Didn't WI sack him from captaincy?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

ThankGod he and rameez are far far away from IPL.. ESPECIALLY Rameez .. remember he getting carried away with one of female anchor

Unfortunately we are not as lucky. He is always the first-choice commentator for Pakistan's home-series. Which just goes to show how low the bar for play-by-play commentary is in Pakistan.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Didn't WI sack him from captaincy?

Unfortunately, no West Indian captain has much job security under a board like the WICB.

Sammy was sacked 4 months after he won the T20 World Cup.

Holder was sacked from test captaincy because he missed the Bangladesh tour.

 

[Shazzam]

Didn't WI sack him from captaincy?

The future of Babar looks bleak since he was compared to this man.

 

[adzzy786]

Mohammed Rizwan should be captain.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Talking to you is like banging one's head against a brick wall.

I'm not going to keep repeating everything I've said multiple times.

Maybe that's why your argument isn't making much sense, you've banged all common sense out of it.



Anyways, doesn't matter now.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Just some questions for you buddy:

On leadership:
How do you define leadership skills? Which of those skills specifically did you see in Sarfaraz's captaincy that you haven't seen in Babar's?
How long do experts say it take for someone to groom into a leadership role?

On Sarfaraz:
While Pakistan's T20 outfit did well in Sarfaraz's captaincy, which he deserves credit for. But his own form completely tanked. Why do you think that happened? Can a player command respect when he cant even keep his place in the side?
Sarfaraz not only lost his form but also his fitness as evident in the U19 WC. Who was responsible for that? Does that command any confidence in the personality to inspire others to be fit.
Experts say that the test of leadership is more evident in longer formats. Do you give Sarfaraz any responsibility for Pakistan's declining fortunes in ODIs and Test teams under his leadership?

On Babar:
In a short period of Babar's leadership, Pak won its first away ODI series against a top 5 side where the skipper led from the front scoring centuries in both of the games Pak won. Could Sarfaraz have done that?
Babar's batting has gone a notch above after getting the captaincy. What does that show?
Babar is supremely fit. What does that show? Is he better placed to request others to follow suit?
Pakistan won its first significant test series against a strong SA side. What does that exhibit so early in his captaincy stint?

I'm just going to respond to the points which I made in my post, I don't care for what you did trying to put words in my mouth.

Communication, planning, and awareness are three of the most important leadership skills any captain in the world would want to demonstrate. Sarfaraz was a better communicator with the bowlers whereas Babar tends to let them figure out, learn, and explore their own bowling plans. Both demonstrate perhaps no sense of planning, and I can excuse Babar in this case because Misbah is the one picking the playing XI for him, so he practically has no say on who he wants. In terms of awareness, both were roughly the same. Babar doesn't rotate his bowlers well enough from my observations, whereas there were also instances where Sarfaraz neglected his premier bowlers in crunch situations.

Secondly, I'm not talking about grooming Babar into a leader. If you read what I said, I said it's about time that we begin to pass some judgement on the decisions he takes so that we don't end up with another mediocre captain for our team. The sooner he learns, the better. How do you expect him to learn if you won't let people criticize the decisions he takes? It's quite evident that Misbah has no iota of sense regarding white-ball captaincy, so would you rather have Babar follow in Misbah's example or pave his own path? Nowhere did I attempt to bring down Babar as a captain much less a player. He is a diamond among sand for the Pakistan team, I have no reason to criticize his own performances. Needless to say, it's quite clearly stated in my post that I am focusing solely on captaincy not their own performance, making most of your questions not applicable to the topic at hand.

Furthermore, don't lie to yourself by saying this SAF team was strong, they could have whitewashed us so easily had they not choked when it mattered. That South African team was depleted, they would have hammered us in the final ODI had Rabada, Nortje, De Kock, and Miller stayed back. Don't trick yourself into thinking that our team broke barriers and climbed mountains to beat that SAF team because it was depleted. That T20 series against SAF has no importance even if we won it, because neither did we experiment with new players and nor did we demonstrate the capacity to beat an already depleted side. Are you also going to say that beating the current Zimbabwe team is such a huge achievement because I'm pretty sure if we're going by comparisons Sarfaraz didn't lose a T20 to Zimbabwe under his captaincy. Anyway, that's not the goal of this post, so I'll stay away from that.

Who are these experts you keep mentioning? Putting the word "expert" in front of whatever you say doesn't mean that it's authentic.

I agree that under Sarfaraz's leadership, our test team struggled but it is important to note that our team also had many major players lose form. Our bowling attack was constantly being changed as well. Furthermore, we played on UAE pitches which didn't give us a huge advantage compared with Pakistani pitches which we can make according to our strengths. Our ODI team under Sarfaraz rose up the rankings given that stellar performance in the Champions Trophy, and we've seen glimpses in the 2019 WC as well, but it remained majorly inconsistent. Nothing suggests that Babar Azam's tenure as captaincy won't be as inconsistent, but it remains to be seen given that he has only captained a few ODIs and tests.

The point of debate is their captaincy, not their individual performances. I'm not debating against Babar's individual performances, they're levels above what Sarfaraz could produce.

Stop getting so emotional when someone stands against the star player of the team.

The point of debate, I repeat, is their captaincy, and Babar has a lot to learn if he wants to be a good leader. I simply outlined the faults I saw in his captaincy and made a comparison with a previous captain.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistani fans will always keep a soft spot for Babar regardless of the incompetent decisions he takes on the field. His review-taking, his rotation of bowlers, and his use of bowlers is all questionable. It does not take IQ or experience to know not to bowl Shaheen in the death where his economy rate is excess of 10. Rather, it takes common sense and observation to know.

Secondly, on the topic of vision, what vision have you seen with Babar? What does he say in press conferences except "we want to play aggressive cricket" and then proceeds to get humbled by a DEPLETED Zimbabwe team.

Bowlers tend to do well under captains who understand where nd when to use them. If a captain can't see that one of his prime bowlers is struggling in the death, then that's not a captain. Knowing the skillset of the bowlers is quite important and I don't see Babar managing the bowlers well at all. Keep in mind it's only recently that he stopped bowling Haris in the powerplay after dozens upon dozens of failures in the role.

I do agree that Mickey was a good coach, he didn't deserve to be dropped for some guy like Misbah.

The point is judge Babar the same way you judged Sarfaraz and you'll quite clearly see who has better leadership skills. I have never heard anyone praise Babar's leadershop skills, rather I have heard people throw heaps of praise on guys like Shadab and their leadership skills.

Weres the stats that shaheen goes at above 10 an over in the death ?

 

[UzmanBeast]

Weres the stats that shaheen goes at above 10 an over in the death ?

Check scorecards of the recent South African series, and the New Zealand series as well.

I've observed a downwards trend in his death overs bowling for quite some time now.

He shouldn't be bowling there, hopefully Babar and the management see this.

He should be our new ball bowler and should bowl as many overs in the powerplay as possible to keep things tight and take wickets.

 

[shamaan]

Just some questions for you buddy:

On leadership:
How do you define leadership skills? Which of those skills specifically did you see in Sarfaraz's captaincy that you haven't seen in Babar's?
How long do experts say it take for someone to groom into a leadership role?

On Sarfaraz:
While Pakistan's T20 outfit did well in Sarfaraz's captaincy, which he deserves credit for. But his own form completely tanked. Why do you think that happened? Can a player command respect when he cant even keep his place in the side?
Sarfaraz not only lost his form but also his fitness as evident in the U19 WC. Who was responsible for that? Does that command any confidence in the personality to inspire others to be fit.
Experts say that the test of leadership is more evident in longer formats. Do you give Sarfaraz any responsibility for Pakistan's declining fortunes in ODIs and Test teams under his leadership?

On Babar:
In a short period of Babar's leadership, Pak won its first away ODI series against a top 5 side where the skipper led from the front scoring centuries in both of the games Pak won. Could Sarfaraz have done that?
Babar's batting has gone a notch above after getting the captaincy. What does that show?
Babar is supremely fit. What does that show? Is he better placed to request others to follow suit?
Pakistan won its first significant test series against a strong SA side. What does that exhibit so early in his captaincy stint?

Thier are three styles of leadership styles below are the three.
The Autocratic Leadership Style
The democratic leadership style
The Laissez-Faire Leadership Style

 

[shamaan]

Check scorecards of the recent South African series, and the New Zealand series as well.

I've observed a downwards trend in his death overs bowling for quite some time now.

He shouldn't be bowling there, hopefully Babar and the management see this.

He should be our new ball bowler and should bowl as many overs in the powerplay as possible to keep things tight and take wickets.

What about psl and national cupdo we need not take that into consideration .
its not like its been happening for over a year or so its just the last 2 tours were the pitches have been totally flat.he will be back to his best soon.

 

[UzmanBeast]

What about psl and national cupdo we need not take that into consideration .
its not like its been happening for over a year or so its just the last 2 tours were the pitches have been totally flat.he will be back to his best soon.

Happened in England as well.

Bowling plans have not been executed well by SSA in the death, and it ruins his statistics as a bowler.

In 2021 so far, his ER has been just a shade under 9 whereas his bowling average exceeds 40.

If you go and watch the games he played, his figures were quite good until he was asked to come and bowl in the death.

It's ruining his rhythm from my observations, and quite possibly, this is the reason why he appears to be short of confidence.

His role needs revising.

Personally, I'd be willing to bowl him 2 overs in the powerplay and 2 overs in the middle overs, and let Hasan and Rauf bowl in the death.

Alternatively, I could also see him bowling 1 over in the death and the other 3 can be bowled elsewhere.

 

[GudduBadmash]

Yes and he needs to be dropped permanently now. It's unacceptable that the best wicket keeper in the country had to give up his gloves just to keep this guy in the side. It's also unacceptable that he is allowed to give an opinion while the current captain is right there.

For the sake of Babar and Rizwan and their further development as Keeper and Captain respectively they need to get rid of him. It will come back to bite Pakistan big time.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Sarfraz is too emotional and not level headed.His attitude towards players was awful.If he wants to play for Pakistan he must improve his batting.He is still better than Asif and Danish and should have played in SA and Zimbabwe in ODIs and T20s.

 

[shaz619]

Sarfraz was eating emotionally when captain, Korma biryani for breakfast, lunch and dinner; Babar is a welcome improvement

 

[ask_analyse_act]

You bashed the guy on his batting when im talking about leadership here

Let the seniority rot with you Hafeez and Misbah.

Hafeez was in the team for his form in T20Is but in the last six games he had a quiet run. If that continues he himself knows that he will be dropped for good.

Pak should move on from Misbah / Waqar at the most or continue to suffer

 

[Manzy2599]

Sarfraz was definitely a way better captain but became a passenger in the team. He didn’t deserve to lose the t20i captaincy tho. Test and odi was fine but look at how the team deteriorated since misbahs arrival. Pak were a settled team and No1 in the rankings which was slightly inflated.
Firstly Misbah back stabbed Mickey Arthur who he personally worked with. Then he dropped sarfraz, hafeez, malik, shafiq(tests) and wahab. Recalled akmal, shehzad and irfan for the first series and lost to SL C at home. Then he shuffled the whole middle order and tried his beloved asif ali many times as well as Ifthikar, Khusdil, talat and now danish aziz. Played a big role in Amir retiring as well and sarfraz and Hafeez only returned due to media pressure and psl. Malik and Wahab returned cause Misbah couldn’t find replacements and are in & out. Made Shadab vice captain who doesn’t even make the team on merit now. Made babar a dummy yes man captain while he controls everything from the outside. Can’t believe the PCB is allowing this sort of dictatorship to happen thanks to Imran khan who said by 2023 Pakistan will be world beaters lol. The one who only got elected thanks to the army and now ruining Pakistan cricket.
Anyways all these brainless stubborn decisions from Misbah in his tenure of 18 months with a covid-19 pandemic in between means it’s time for him to go. The Zimbabwe series should be a big wake up call. The 1st t20 they lost because of Zimbabwe’s 17 extras and dropped catches. And the 3rd one got close and they lost due to their own mistakes. Could have easily been 2-1 or 3-0 to Zimbabwe had pak not got lucky. Go Misbah go.

 

[shamaan]

Happened in England as well.

Bowling plans have not been executed well by SSA in the death, and it ruins his statistics as a bowler.

In 2021 so far, his ER has been just a shade under 9 whereas his bowling average exceeds 40.

If you go and watch the games he played, his figures were quite good until he was asked to come and bowl in the death.

It's ruining his rhythm from my observations, and quite possibly, this is the reason why he appears to be short of confidence.

His role needs revising.

Personally, I'd be willing to bowl him 2 overs in the powerplay and 2 overs in the middle overs, and let Hasan and Rauf bowl in the death.

Alternatively, I could also see him bowling 1 over in the death and the other 3 can be bowled elsewhere.

Under 9 I's not to bad in t20s it will be interesting to see the stats of Hassan and Rauf compared to shaheen in the last year.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Under 9 I's not to bad in t20s it will be interesting to see the stats of Hassan and Rauf compared to shaheen in the last year.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're bowling better than him. Hasan has been taking wickets since his comeback, though he does get expensive from time to time.

 

[Kaddy]

Sarfraz was definitely a way better captain but became a passenger in the team. He didn’t deserve to lose the t20i captaincy tho. Test and odi was fine but look at how the team deteriorated since misbahs arrival. Pak were a settled team and No1 in the rankings which was slightly inflated.
Firstly Misbah back stabbed Mickey Arthur who he personally worked with. Then he dropped sarfraz, hafeez, malik, shafiq(tests) and wahab. Recalled akmal, shehzad and irfan for the first series and lost to SL C at home. Then he shuffled the whole middle order and tried his beloved asif ali many times as well as Ifthikar, Khusdil, talat and now danish aziz. Played a big role in Amir retiring as well and sarfraz and Hafeez only returned due to media pressure and psl. Malik and Wahab returned cause Misbah couldn’t find replacements and are in & out. Made Shadab vice captain who doesn’t even make the team on merit now. Made babar a dummy yes man captain while he controls everything from the outside. Can’t believe the PCB is allowing this sort of dictatorship to happen thanks to Imran khan who said by 2023 Pakistan will be world beaters lol. The one who only got elected thanks to the army and now ruining Pakistan cricket.
Anyways all these brainless stubborn decisions from Misbah in his tenure of 18 months with a covid-19 pandemic in between means it’s time for him to go. The Zimbabwe series should be a big wake up call. The 1st t20 they lost because of Zimbabwe’s 17 extras and dropped catches. And the 3rd one got close and they lost due to their own mistakes. Could have easily been 2-1 or 3-0 to Zimbabwe had pak not got lucky. Go Misbah go.

Misbah didn't drop Asad Shafiq from test cricket.

M. Wasim dropped him.

 

[shamaan]

I wouldn't be surprised if they're bowling better than him. Hasan has been taking wickets since his comeback, though he does get expensive from time to time.

Definitely better death bowler from the naked eye but when shaheen is on song he's as good as anyone.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Definitely better death bowler from the naked eye but when shaheen is on song he's as good as anyone.

Problem is that Shaheen has been on a slow yet visible decline quite possibly due to fatigue.

Should have also been rested from this Zimbabwe test series but Misbah will play him regardless.

 

[shamaan]

Problem is that Shaheen has been on a slow yet visible decline quite possibly due to fatigue.

Should have also been rested from this Zimbabwe test series but Misbah will play him regardless.

His pace was still very good in the last tour.and yes majority of the fans would say he should not play in the test series but he will.

 

[UzmanBeast]

His pace was still very good in the last tour.and yes majority of the fans would say he should not play in the test series but he will.

His pace has always been fine. He's not putting plans together in his bowling which is the problem.

 

[shamaan]

His pace has always been fine. He's not putting plans together in his bowling which is the problem.

Shouldn't the plans happen with the coach at help.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Shouldn't the plans happen with the coach at help.

True, but he also needs to improvise.

 

[MenInG]

Babar Azam: “As a captain, I learned a lot from Saifi Bhai. I always go to him for captaincy advice because I know his experience as a skipper. He knows the game very well and is always there to support me

https://a-sports.tv/sarfaraz-advice-captain-babar-azam/