Ironically Hafeez is probably our most consistent player. He's the most consistent bowler (though Ajmal is better). It actually felt like Hafeez was getting whacked yesterday, was disappointed. He still went for 4.9 runs an over. Which actually feels very poor considering what we're used to from him these days.
Hafeez is expected to perform with the bat (opening too, a specialist batting position), bowl and as well as being one of our main/best fielders. And perhaps help Misbah with his captaincy. And being the only player with ajmal who plays all three formats too. There is a huge amount of responsibility, we rely on him a lot.
Personally I think the load is already Hafeez is struggling with. But I don't think he can handle ODI captaincy on top of that atm. He already has to manage far more than any other player. Not saying he's our best ODI player, but the workload he has is the highest.
I honestly dunno who I'd give it to. Probably better it stick with Misbah at the moment, maybe groom Azhar for the role, but don't think he can take over tomorrow.
If Malik does find his way in the team (which feels like he will after this series loss), maybe he should captain. His form is better with captaincy and he's by far the stand out/most accomplished captain in domestic. It comes natural to him, don't think he'll be burdened by it (in fact he'll probably improve). But that's the only realistic choice I see atm. But I do not like appointing someone totally out of any form captain. The guy averages 10 with the bat these days and is not really relied on his bowling. All I can say I liked his effort fielding yesterday.
Better to stick with Misbah at the moment.
Yeah it felt like that, but getting smashed is always a risk with spinners.
I actually do agree with most of your post - however, given there have been 3 ODI series losses already, there wil be pressure on the PCB to act and the captaincy issue will no doubt be on the top of their list. I feel that it's inevitable at the moment. Misbah's facial expression before the presentation ceremony told a story, and I think he is done in this format.
We don't have a lot of quality players tbh barring Ajmal when it comes to bowling (and have some out of form players), so I don't expect to see a huge change as a result of captaincy chopping. It takes a very astute captain to get something out of average players.
Fast bowling is another issue. Gulla peaked during the WC last year and was known to be the best in business in the shorter formats, but he seems to be out of form as well for quite some time now, definitely not a game changer anymore. The biased fan in me is still hoping for him to step up his game come T20 WC though...
Then there's the ever present WK issue, Kami is just making a comeback and one cannot expect him to settle in right away (I don't think he should have been recalled, but that's anther story). Similarly, Razzaq's absence from the ODIs has left a void for that all-rounder position which we can't seem to fill. He played a very important role for us, and even with decline in pace, Razzaq was quite clever with the bowling and he could be used in short spells (not to mention our dependency on his late order hitting).
At the same time, we have an Afridi who perhaps due to injuries has been below par this year as compared to his usual self. Afridi was a matchwinner for us quite a few times, and him not being his best is a worry too.
So basically, we have an ODI team which is lacking a fast bowling all-rounder capable of strong hitting, our fast bowling attack is quite frankly mediocre as compared to even last year, and essentially, we only have one star bowler who really has no support. We also don't have the services of a decent WK-batsman at the moment and although Hafeez finally did well yesterday, the jury is still out on his opening spot.
It doesn't look so good to be honest for whoever takes on this new captaincy role. I think the PCB needs to really hunt for fast bowling talent and find an all rounder of the Razzaq type ASAP, if they are to go ahead and make a captaincy change.
Give the new captain the best possible chance for success by making good selections and then Inshallah, let's hope for the best.
