Have PCB taken the right decision to appoint Babar Azam as vice-captain for ODI and T20I teams?

[MenInG]

Is he the right choice? Good batsman but choice as vice-captain means he's being groomed as future captain. Will this put extra pressure on him?

 

[Theo_14]

Why would being the “vice” captain plce any pressure on him? If he is a ambitious and professional player than he should be looking forward to this.

Only a weak player with a fragile mentality would call this pressure.

He is probably the only player who has been developed the right way since he the age of 15.

 

[sweep_shot]

Babar has the potential to become the greatest batsman in Pakistan history. However, he seems to be a really quiet guy. He doesn't look leadership-material.

We just have to wait and see how he does. I think he should've been VC for T20 only.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Babar has the potential to become the greatest batsman in Pakistan history. However, he seems to be a really quiet guy. He doesn't look leadership-material.

We just have to wait and see how he does. I think he should've been VC for T20 only.

Kane williamson is also a quiet guy, didnt he succeed. It is the modern day fascination that needs someone to have that swag.

In that case, all the swag of afridi didnt make him a good or better captain.

 

[sweep_shot]

Kane williamson is also a quiet guy, didnt he succeed. It is the modern day fascination that needs someone to have that swag.

In that case, all the swag of afridi didnt make him a good or better captain.

You are correct. Williamson indeed succeeded despite having introverted nature.

Let's wait and see how Babar plays out.

 

[topspin]

Babar has the potential to become the greatest batsman in Pakistan history. However, he seems to be a really quiet guy. He doesn't look leadership-material.

We just have to wait and see how he does. I think he should've been VC for T20 only.

Exactly this. He isn't a natural leader and his response to a journalist on twitter makes me question whether he's fit for the role as well.

 

[Barragan]

Doesn't seem like he is tactically adept.

Imad is ahead of him as captain for kk and Micky is the coach, which should tell you where Babar sits currently.

 

[Darkrai]

Absolutely the right decision.

Whether he'll succeed or not, we'll have to wait and see, but it's certainly worth giving a shot. If he does succeed then we'll finally be able to move past the issue of non-performing captains because Babar has shown he is a very hard working cricketer, so it's very unlikely that his performance will drop all that much, and on the other side there's a chance his performance could even improve.

 

[MMHS]

No, wrong decision- he should have been captain. They have made him “Deputy”, so that he is “eased” into the job and “learn” from his captain.

It doesn’t work like that - he won’t come out of comfort zone like this and he won’t “ learn” much from his captain either. Or, may be he’ll learn to drop himself down the order when going is tough. Even if I take his official age as genuine, he is 25, has played 4 years for PCT now, hold a key spot in every squad on own merit and he has the quality to lead from the front - what else he could “learn” from Sarfraz.... tactics may be.

Knee jerk appointment- PCB is scared of the backlash and went for a compromise. Hope it doesn’t cost PAK by 2023 WC, when PCB might be “reluctant” to change Captain so close to WC.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Should have been another option - that Babar be appointed to captain for T20s and ODIs. I would have voted for that option above the three choices provided, so I didn't vote.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Exactly this. He isn't a natural leader and his response to a journalist on twitter makes me question whether he's fit for the role as well.

He is a natural leader in another sense - with the bat.

If he is tactically astute, and he does seem to assess the game well, then he will be a good captain. He is imo far smarter than Sarfraz and far more of a "leading from the front" type guy.

I used to think like you, I don't anymore after seeing him grow as a player and seeing his press conferences.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

One thing I would add also is that based on press reports, he obsesses over how he got out in his last innings whenever he is dismissed. This suggests to me that he is a serious student of the game and as a captain he would study every move he made on the field and would learn from each game.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Having said that, perhaps it's better that he remains vice captain. With someone like Misbah as coach and selector, he would probably either be dominated or come in to conflict with Misbah. And at 24, he would already have enough issues fighting the seniority culture within the team, let alone against the coach and chief selector. It would be difficult for him to stamp himself as the leader of the team with old dyed, fake bearded religious and pious man hanging around with his cunning and self-serving agenda.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

No, wrong decision- he should have been captain. They have made him “Deputy”, so that he is “eased” into the job and “learn” from his captain.

It doesn’t work like that - he won’t come out of comfort zone like this and he won’t “ learn” much from his captain either. Or, may be he’ll learn to drop himself down the order when going is tough. Even if I take his official age as genuine, he is 25, has played 4 years for PCT now, hold a key spot in every squad on own merit and he has the quality to lead from the front - what else he could “learn” from Sarfraz.... tactics may be.

Knee jerk appointment- PCB is scared of the backlash and went for a compromise. Hope it doesn’t cost PAK by 2023 WC, when PCB might be “reluctant” to change Captain so close to WC.

I would have preferred Babar to be captain but I do understand the PCB.

Babar hasn't done any captaincy since 2012. He needs to pickup some tactics - not from sarfraz of course but maybe from Misbah or from his domestic team. He's also the captain of his domestic FC team , let him pick up some tactics. After a season of FC cricket Captaincy + being deputy in internationals he should be ready to be full captain after the 2020 world T20 cup.

 

[Rana]

Who was the vice captain before him?

Does this position actually matter?

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Who was the vice captain before him?

Does this position actually matter?

There was no vice captain actually. But Shoaib Malik was like the "unofficial" vice captain. It can help when grooming captains

 

[nextover666666]

Babar is a great player but I don't think I'm the future he should be captain , I feel he wouldn't be a good captain

 

[Nasty Naz]

Yeah, of course its a great and the right move. He is going to be the eventual captain even if it may take a couple of years. He's not ready yet but its all about grooming him for the role and letting him mature while not putting too much pressure on him.

 

[topspin]

He is a natural leader in another sense - with the bat.

If he is tactically astute, and he does seem to assess the game well, then he will be a good captain. He is imo far smarter than Sarfraz and far more of a "leading from the front" type guy.

I used to think like you, I don't anymore after seeing him grow as a player and seeing his press conferences.

You still do in respect of Misbah and Waqar Younis.

As for Babar Azam, he is certainly an upgrade over Sarfraz and he does lead by example, but don't you think he's a bit timid?

 

[Ted123]

Yes, its vice-captain as he is the best option. He is the best batsmen in the country and now established also.

 

[Majid Khan]

My personal view is you should never appoint the best batsman in the team as captain or vice captain - although some like Waugh, Ponting, Miandad, Kohli have succeeded as leaders also , as you need your best batsmen focused on nothing but their own batting and getting runs to put the team in the strongest position.

I would probably say that the reason Waugh, Kohli, Miandad succeeded as batsmen even while captains is because they are exceptions in that these are batsmen who thrive under pressure - and their chances of succeeding if anything are actually higher when the pressure is intense, but such players are far and few between.

Remember a batsman only needs to make one mistake, a slight lapse in concentration and it’s all over.. why give them anything extra to worry about if they are your premier batsmen.