Is Misbah-ul-Haq the best analyst for Pakistan in 2023?

[mominsaigol]

First of, this isn't about misbah's Reign as a captain or his coaching skills. Ik their bad and all that stuff and I don't support him, but I've been following his analysis on Pakistan cricket and compared to Moin Khan, Sohaib Malik, Ramiz raja and everyone else who's living on cloud 9 or someone like sohaib Akhtar who sprouts hate 24/7, Misbah is the only guy who has genuinely spoken the truth.

He may be a bad coach and captain to some, but he's a gun Analyst and credit needs to be given where credit is due.

1) Firstly Misbah was the only Analyst to actually speak the voice of what we pakistani fans feel, and that is he outright stated that Pakistan is NOT A no 1 team and that all we did was beat D string teams. We shouldn't feel happy about beating D side NZ. Whereas everyone else like Iftikhar or Ramiz raja were over the moon.

2) Secondly something which even I'm suprised by, Misbah forwarded the concept of grooming. He outright stated saim ayub should have been a regular since 2021 since he's young and can fix the no sixes in power play situation. He also stated that the entire unit must groom saim and then babar, Rizwan and everyone else must adopt the saim ayub intent approach and that should be the Pakistan way.

He isn't saying saim is some godly player but he's saying saim needs to be groomed and every player in the unit needs to adopt his style of aggression.

3) He's the only Analyst to actually identify the whole averages and milestones nonsense. He outright criticised pakistan's obsession with averages and compared them to how A string teams approach the game, They don't really care about 50+ averages.

4) He also completly dissed and identified the babar azam dosti yaari nonsense.

I've been following the talk show for a while now, and even though I've had my problems with misbah as a captain, Coach and player, he's a gun Analyst and has been speaking the voice of the nation.

Every other Analyst like NAZ are still living in a fantasy world. BTW I'm not advocating for misbah's return, he should stick to analysis but what he says is something PCB really needs to look at.

 

[Rana]

Misbah is a waste of time regardless of how much sense he makes. He can identify lots of basic things that other good teams are doing, but holds no vision or skill to implement on himself or any team that he captains/coaches.

He also has stubborn, pathetic views on white ball batting combinations and approaches.

On the Pavilion show, Shoaib Malik’s views are the most practical and applicable in modern cricket. He’s the most traveled player of the modern era in that panel, and he’s seen how the best white ball players in the world operate. On top of that he was actually a very decent captain in his earlier days.

 

[Rana]

Make no mistake,

The mess you find Pakistan in now is because of Misbah’s stupid decisions 4 years ago upon being appointed as Pakistan chief selector and head coach

 

[Bewal Express]

First of, this isn't about misbah's Reign as a captain or his coaching skills. Ik their bad and all that stuff and I don't support him, but I've been following his analysis on Pakistan cricket and compared to Moin Khan, Sohaib Malik, Ramiz raja and everyone else who's living on cloud 9 or someone like sohaib Akhtar who sprouts hate 24/7, Misbah is the only guy who has genuinely spoken the truth.

He may be a bad coach and captain to some, but he's a gun Analyst and credit needs to be given where credit is due.

1) Firstly Misbah was the only Analyst to actually speak the voice of what we pakistani fans feel, and that is he outright stated that Pakistan is NOT A no 1 team and that all we did was beat D string teams. We shouldn't feel happy about beating D side NZ. Whereas everyone else like Iftikhar or Ramiz raja were over the moon.

2) Secondly something which even I'm suprised by, Misbah forwarded the concept of grooming. He outright stated saim ayub should have been a regular since 2021 since he's young and can fix the no sixes in power play situation. He also stated that the entire unit must groom saim and then babar, Rizwan and everyone else must adopt the saim ayub intent approach and that should be the Pakistan way.

He isn't saying saim is some godly player but he's saying saim needs to be groomed and every player in the unit needs to adopt his style of aggression.

3) He's the only Analyst to actually identify the whole averages and milestones nonsense. He outright criticised pakistan's obsession with averages and compared them to how A string teams approach the game, They don't really care about 50+ averages.

4) He also completly dissed and identified the babar azam dosti yaari nonsense.

I've been following the talk show for a while now, and even though I've had my problems with misbah as a captain, Coach and player, he's a gun Analyst and has been speaking the voice of the nation.

Every other Analyst like NAZ are still living in a fantasy world. BTW I'm not advocating for misbah's return, he should stick to analysis but what he says is something PCB really needs to look at.

Misbah should have been the PCB chairman. He was too defensive with DOC role, which was a great opportunity to get rid of the different power centres and would have taken PK cricket forward, if realised the opportunity presented to him.
The PCB are self serving and useless. Look at the pathetic domestic system that serves no purpose. And because of that, we lack talent identification and we miss the good young players from poor backgrounds. It's a lottery and we are regressing.
The sad reality is that we are in 2023 and nothing has changed, and the even sadder fact is that nothing will ever change.

 

[mominsaigol]

Make no mistake,

The mess you find Pakistan in now is because of Misbah’s stupid decisions 4 years ago upon being appointed as Pakistan chief selector and head coach

I'm well aware of that.

I was asking a question about his overall analytical skills on the show.

Now his overall run as selector or captain.

 

[mikeypbadana86]

Misbah is a waste of time regardless of how much sense he makes. He can identify lots of basic things that other good teams are doing, but holds no vision or skill to implement on himself or any team that he captains/coaches.

He also has stubborn, pathetic views on white ball batting combinations and approaches.

On the Pavilion show, Shoaib Malik’s views are the most practical and applicable in modern cricket. He’s the most traveled player of the modern era in that panel, and he’s seen how the best white ball players in the world operate. On top of that he was actually a very decent captain in his earlier days.

Shoiab malik is street smart . He could have won 2007 t20 worldcup on his own

 

[hassan918]

Not sure, if he is the best but he certainly does a lot better comments and analysis than other Pakistan cricket experts.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

He's a good analyst for sure, perhaps one of the best. However the problem is that when put into a position of authority he failed badly...perhaps one of the worst tenures I've seen at the helm.

There is no going back from such a disastrous display.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Misbah should have been the PCB chairman. He was too defensive with DOC role, which was a great opportunity to get rid of the different power centres and would have taken PK cricket forward, if realised the opportunity presented to him.
The PCB are self serving and useless. Look at the pathetic domestic system that serves no purpose. And because of that, we lack talent identification and we miss the good young players from poor backgrounds. It's a lottery and we are regressing.
The sad reality is that we are in 2023 and nothing has changed, and the even sadder fact is that nothing will ever change.

There was no chance of him rocking the boat and getting rid of the different power centres when he is a part of them.

 

[Major]

There was no chance of him rocking the boat and getting rid of the different power centres when he is a part of them.

Misbah does have the most influence on Pakistan Cricket, and i think this is what made Rameez Raja very angry

 

[ArabKnight]

First of, this isn't about misbah's Reign as a captain or his coaching skills. Ik their bad and all that stuff and I don't support him, but I've been following his analysis on Pakistan cricket and compared to Moin Khan, Sohaib Malik, Ramiz raja and everyone else who's living on cloud 9 or someone like sohaib Akhtar who sprouts hate 24/7, Misbah is the only guy who has genuinely spoken the truth.

He may be a bad coach and captain to some, but he's a gun Analyst and credit needs to be given where credit is due.

1) Firstly Misbah was the only Analyst to actually speak the voice of what we pakistani fans feel, and that is he outright stated that Pakistan is NOT A no 1 team and that all we did was beat D string teams. We shouldn't feel happy about beating D side NZ. Whereas everyone else like Iftikhar or Ramiz raja were over the moon.

2) Secondly something which even I'm suprised by, Misbah forwarded the concept of grooming. He outright stated saim ayub should have been a regular since 2021 since he's young and can fix the no sixes in power play situation. He also stated that the entire unit must groom saim and then babar, Rizwan and everyone else must adopt the saim ayub intent approach and that should be the Pakistan way.

He isn't saying saim is some godly player but he's saying saim needs to be groomed and every player in the unit needs to adopt his style of aggression.

3) He's the only Analyst to actually identify the whole averages and milestones nonsense. He outright criticised pakistan's obsession with averages and compared them to how A string teams approach the game, They don't really care about 50+ averages.

4) He also completly dissed and identified the babar azam dosti yaari nonsense.

I've been following the talk show for a while now, and even though I've had my problems with misbah as a captain, Coach and player, he's a gun Analyst and has been speaking the voice of the nation.

Every other Analyst like NAZ are still living in a fantasy world. BTW I'm not advocating for misbah's return, he should stick to analysis but what he says is something PCB really needs to look at.

- Misbah on television
- Misbah on the field/in the locker-room

They are two very different people.

He’s just like Afridi & Nawaz Sharif. Same type of bully behind doors but shareef on camera.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Misbah gets the best out of Pakistan team. He is their MS Dhoni. He does not improve the team like Imran, Kohli or Sharma but like Dhoni he is a great manager who ensures Pakistan is able to match up to the talent it has in terms of performance.

People call him the flag bearer of mediocrity which is not his fault. He just helps mediocre cricketers ensure they at least do mediocre things and when mediocrity combines as a team
Performance it can often lead you to win which is what he was achieving a lot of times

 

[Devadwal]

Yes I think so along with Rashid Latif

 

[TheSultan]

No he’s not because he flip flops his views according to the situation and what he’s gauged everybody in the room is going to agree with. Therefore in the moment he sounds like he’s analysed it well.

Bit his inconsistency reeks and exposes him.

Examples:

1. He goes on about how the no1 ranking is due to playing C,D teams and is not an accurate reflection etc etc Ok fair point.

2. On another day everyone’s talking about Pakistan hitting 0 sixes in the powerplay. He comes out with very smugly “well who’s no1 eh? They became the no1 without needing to hit sixes”. Are you serious? Look at point 1

3. After the match vs India, he goes on about showing intent, need to be more aggressive, waxing lyrical as if he’s the shining example of it. He was as defensive if not moreso than babar and a pathetic example and pioneer of our defensive approach.

4. He always seems to know the symptoms and causes of everything and the solution apparently is the system. Can’t blame the captain, the coach, the chairman is changing blah blah blah. But excuse me weren’t you given the most powerful job in Pakistan cricket like ever?! What did you do? Nothing. And you didn’t have chairmen changing every 6 months either.

As I said, in the moment he sometimes makes a lot of sense. But ultimately he’s a waste of time and so slow with his analysis I’m falling asleep.

 

[ElRaja]

misbah was excellent in his comfort zone, which was attritional test cricket in the UAE.

he over estimates the power of his own analysis, sometimes you need to let people express themselves in their own way, and im pretty sure reading between the lines of his comments that hes a my way or the highway kinda guy.

he lacks a proactive strategic mind which is why he was fairly average anywhere his chosen strategies required tweaking.

 

[Markhor]

Misbah often makes sense on these TV panels, and possesses more tactical insight than most of our ex-players.

However when appointed to a position of authority - Misbah's guilty of the many things he rails against.

For example he mentioned how insecure players feel from inconsistent selection policies. However when coach between 2019-21, we cycled through players like no tomorrow !

In his first two series alone against Sri Lanka and Australia - the likes of Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Irfan and Imran Khan jr all made comebacks before being quickly discarded. Musa Khan came and went. Later on Sharjeel Khan and Azam Khan made brief cameos.

Our ex-cricketers are a reflection of our society. We find it easy talking about problems but few are willing to implement what they preach.

 

[Bewal Express]

There was no chance of him rocking the boat and getting rid of the different power centres when he is a part of them.

Maybe but it was a golden opportunity missed. No more passing the buck.

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

Still stuck in misbah's era lol it's in our DNA to give chances after several failures not only in cricket but in all subjects i.e politics etc.
There is only one and very basic step to develop sports particularly cricket and hockey, WE NEED INDEPENDENT GOVERNING BODY, this will solve your all problems i.e, curruption, parchi system, nepotism etc etc.
Nations have goals for future but sadly we have nothing. We destroyed everything with dirty political and money.

 

[Mohraheem]

He is on a mission to destroy Pakistan cricket. I don’t understand one thing.. why is he keep coming back ?? My message to him : concentrate on your business degree. Pakistan need your defensive technique

 

[RyanRyan10]

He is on a mission to destroy Pakistan cricket. I don’t understand one thing.. why is he keep coming back ?? My message to him : concentrate on your business degree. Pakistan need your defensive technique

Why is he on such a mission?

 

[hafizexpress]

Make no mistake,

The mess you find Pakistan in now is because of Misbah’s stupid decisions 4 years ago upon being appointed as Pakistan chief selector and head coach

And 10 years ago, the current defensive mindset that drags the team back was also architected by the great Misbah. I like him overall, but in that very significant and pivotal period of cricket where every team was gradually transforming their style and players and getting accustomed to the rapidly changing game, Misbah's Pakistan was left behind. His replacement Azhar Ali made sure that our cricket was still snail-like and thus began and continued a horrible period of Pakistan cricket

 

[ArabKnight]

He is on a mission to destroy Pakistan cricket. I don’t understand one thing.. why is he keep coming back ?? My message to him : concentrate on your business degree. Pakistan need your defensive technique

Misbah, ah yes! The man who tries to play for a draw in a LOC match. That’s the future of Pakistan modern day cricket.

Aqib Javed once said that even schools wouldn’t hire Misbah to be their cricket team’s coach.

Misbah is well on his way to get a degree awarded to him so he can take on the role of PCB chairman.

 

[TheSultan]

I think the problem on that pavilion show is that you can tell Wasim is holding back. Malik sometimes does get to the truth but everyone always has to caveat that “first of all babar is our match winner or Rizwan is our match winner or Shaheen is our match winner or Shadab has won many matches for us” - why do you even have to say that as a pretext? Maybe they just know how sensitive these current players are

Moin just seems hell bent on attacking Mickey’s remote role, with little else to contribute.

Misbah provides some insight at moments but as I’ve documented in my previous post, he’s a bit all over the place.

I much preferred the alternate show (forget the channel) last year with Salim Malik, Wahab and Amir. Yes they went overboard at times but they did get to the heart of the matter most of the time.

 

[mominsaigol]

I think the problem on that pavilion show is that you can tell Wasim is holding back. Malik sometimes does get to the truth but everyone always has to caveat that “first of all babar is our match winner or Rizwan is our match winner or Shaheen is our match winner or Shadab has won many matches for us” - why do you even have to say that as a pretext? Maybe they just know how sensitive these current players are

Moin just seems hell bent on attacking Mickey’s remote role, with little else to contribute.

Misbah provides some insight at moments but as I’ve documented in my previous post, he’s a bit all over the place.

I much preferred the alternate show (forget the channel) last year with Salim Malik, Wahab and Amir. Yes they went overboard at times but they did get to the heart of the matter most of the time.

I asked the question cause my OP's are always the opposite of my actual views , cause I have to please people and look at what their thought process is.

If you want my personal opinion, Misbah just states the extreme obvious. What he's saying is exactly what we have been saying for the past 12 months lol.

He watches a match, makes an opinion and then next match he'll change it based of that match.

Expect him to say something like " See that rizwan, I'm the one who made him opener, I'm the man who found a generational talent, and then against India he'll state, You see we dominate c/d string teams so where do we rank? Babar and rizzu bullying c and d string is unacceptable"

Basically he's the definition of a walking contradiction.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Misbah is a waste of time regardless of how much sense he makes. He can identify lots of basic things that other good teams are doing, but holds no vision or skill to implement on himself or any team that he captains/coaches.

He also has stubborn, pathetic views on white ball batting combinations and approaches.

On the Pavilion show, Shoaib Malik’s views are the most practical and applicable in modern cricket. He’s the most traveled player of the modern era in that panel, and he’s seen how the best white ball players in the world operate. On top of that he was actually a very decent captain in his earlier days.

This. Malik makes the most sense in that show. Misbah looks decent because Moin and Wasim are simply there for the quota. Malik would actually make a great Head coach

 

[moghul]

The guy who destroyed Pakistan cricket , can't be a good analyst.

 

[saqib.rai]

Shoiab malik is street smart . He could have won 2007 t20 worldcup on his own

Please check how much he scored in the final and ON HOW MANY BALLS

 

[saqib.rai]

Not sure, if he is the best but he certainly does a lot better comments and analysis than other Pakistan cricket experts.

Misbah was made captain of an ODI team that had ended Australia's 25 odd match unbeaten streak in World Cups, was the only team to beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka at the World Cup. Also topped the group.

When he left, we were ranked 9th in the world and there was a serious chance of us missing out on qualifying for the Champions Trophy.

Need I say more? The pathetic ODI Cricket we played under him was not replicated before him nor after him. No Azhar Ali was even worse.

Both Misbah and Azhar Ali type people are 'geedars' and should not be allowed to talk nonsense now when they were the most defensive and toothless people to play for Pakistan.

Plus in his coaching, we lost 3-0 to a Sri Lanka B/C team and now has the audacity to question our number 1 rank in ODI

 

[Mohraheem]

Misbah was made captain of an ODI team that had ended Australia's 25 odd match unbeaten streak in World Cups, was the only team to beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka at the World Cup. Also topped the group.

When he left, we were ranked 9th in the world and there was a serious chance of us missing out on qualifying for the Champions Trophy.

Need I say more? The pathetic ODI Cricket we played under him was not replicated before him nor after him. No Azhar Ali was even worse.

Both Misbah and Azhar Ali type people are 'geedars' and should not be allowed to talk nonsense now when they were the most defensive and toothless people to play for Pakistan.

Plus in his coaching, we lost 3-0 to a Sri Lanka B/C team and now has the audacity to question our number 1 rank in ODI

100 agreed! This ^ genius!

 

[Major]

Misbah gets the best out of Pakistan team. He is their MS Dhoni. He does not improve the team like Imran, Kohli or Sharma but like Dhoni he is a great manager who ensures Pakistan is able to match up to the talent it has in terms of performance.

People call him the flag bearer of mediocrity which is not his fault. He just helps mediocre cricketers ensure they at least do mediocre things and when mediocrity combines as a team
Performance it can often lead you to win which is what he was achieving a lot of times

I wanted to avoid this thread, as no one is gonna provide a proper or accurate on Misbah, but what you said is true.

Misbah had 10+ years of experience from domestic and Pakistan A, which is why he knew the trade by heart when he became Pakistan's captain.
What made Dhoni and Misbah good captains was the way how they used their resources. Dhoni didnt have a good pace attack, while he had a good batting attack, yet the guy won icc tournaments. Misbah also didnt have a good batting attack but had a good bowling attack, and knew how to use the conditions. Dhoni and Misbah had the same strategy, and that was to reduce the runs and balls margin, the opposition will give it away themselves. For that Dhoni used medium pacers, while Misbah used spinners.

Ravindra Jadeja is one of the best examples of cricketers ever made by India. The guy doesnt spin, but yet India learned from Dhoni how to use him. Meanwhile, in our country, we dont know how to use Nawaz and wasted him.

 

[Major]

I asked the question cause my OP's are always the opposite of my actual views , cause I have to please people and look at what their thought process is.

If you want my personal opinion, Misbah just states the extreme obvious. What he's saying is exactly what we have been saying for the past 12 months lol.

He watches a match, makes an opinion and then next match he'll change it based of that match.

Expect him to say something like " See that rizwan, I'm the one who made him opener, I'm the man who found a generational talent, and then against India he'll state, You see we dominate c/d string teams so where do we rank? Babar and rizzu bullying c and d string is unacceptable"

Basically he's the definition of a walking contradiction.

love to have a discussion with you on Misbah some other day.

I am hopeful i can change your opinon

 

[mominsaigol]

love to have a discussion with you on Misbah some other day.

I am hopeful i can change your opinon

You can ping me anytime for a discussion.

I'm always open for changing opinions, I do not mind .

 

[daytrader]

Been saying this for years. He's the most level headed ex player we have and his reading of the game is second to none. This is why he's always in the PCB circle and has managed to gain influence.

 

[chinaman00]

The problem with Pakistan cricket isn’t the lack of analysis or identifying the issues, it’s about solutions and implementing those solutions. Correct diagnosis and incorrect prescription has been the bane of Pakistan cricket. Misbah might hit the right notes when he talks but would never bring credible solutions.

 

[Bewal Express]

The guy who destroyed Pakistan cricket , can't be a good analyst.

No one destroyed anything. When you lack World class talent, you need World class systems to make the best of the limited talent available. We have an appalling setup that is self serving and that hasn't and will never change.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He is a very good analyst. His performance as head coach wasn't that good. People often find it hard to bring changes inside the PCB system when their hands are tied to an extent due to the many power centers.

Moin Khan is a big downgrade over Waqar this year. Wahab was actually better than Malik IMO. Malik tries to sound neo-cricket analyst but actually ends up sprouting his inner frustrations. He used to praise Babar alot till 2021 wc and wanted to play till the 2022 wc, but once Babar didn't assure him of it, and Wasim dropped him, his relationship and views on Babar have soured since.

Of all the importance of fitness Malik preaches, he was vying for Azam Khan's inclusion and saying he doesn't need to lose weight is quite contradictory.

 

[mikeypbadana86]

Please check how much he scored in the final and ON HOW MANY BALLS

I was talking about captaincy.

 

[adi_62941]

He is a very good analyst. His performance as head coach wasn't that good. People often find it hard to bring changes inside the PCB system when their hands are tied to an extent due to the many power centers.

Moin Khan is a big downgrade over Waqar this year. Wahab was actually better than Malik IMO. Malik tries to sound neo-cricket analyst but actually ends up sprouting his inner frustrations. He used to praise Babar alot till 2021 wc and wanted to play till the 2022 wc, but once Babar didn't assure him of it, and Wasim dropped him, his relationship and views on Babar have soured since.

Of all the importance of fitness Malik preaches, he was vying for Azam Khan's inclusion and saying he doesn't need to lose weight is quite contradictory.

Malik was a fraudulent cricketer who never performed or made an impact when it truly mattered. Like Shadab, he excelled only in the field and consistently relied on his connections to secure selection.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

This. Malik makes the most sense in that show. Misbah looks decent because Moin and Wasim are simply there for the quota. Malik would actually make a great Head coach

Malik is a real cringey dude. I think he is the worst of the lot.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

For me I've always found Sikander Bakht to be the best analyst within our ex cricketing circles. Understands the game like no other and is always spot on with regards to the intricacies of selections

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Malik is a real cringey dude. I think he is the worst of the lot.

Just talking about his analysis. Seems to understand the modern game better than everybody else on that show. Other than that, yeah - no other redeeming quality

 

[Rana]

For me I've always found Sikander Bakht to be the best analyst within our ex cricketing circles. Understands the game like no other and is always spot on with regards to the intricacies of selections

But people love to vilify him because he speaks strongly against Dosti Yaari culture

 

[CerebralPatriot]

But people love to vilify him because he speaks strongly against Dosti Yaari culture

It is quite unfortunate.

The same abuse he has gotten has be thrown at upstanding journalists like Shoaib Jatt just because they speak truth to power

 

[TheSultan]

Some very good points by a lot of people here. For me the reality is most of Pakistani pundits flip flop so much they can appear to be good when they agree with your own point of view. And with the likes of Misbah and Waqar the hypocrisy of their views and their implementation when they had some power makes them very hard to take seriously.

I would much rather someone take a particular principle and stick with it - it might actually educate some of us. For all of the ridicule Shoaib Akhtar gets about dalair, budtameezi, brand etc. at least he sticks to it.

Rashid Latif is another very good analyst - my only annoyance with his caught behind stuff with Doc is that they waste so much time having their own private jokes, I don’t really care about it.

 

[BouncerGuy]

I agree with the thread title. Misbah-ul Haq, despite his controversial reign as a captain and coach, is recognized for his truthful and insightful analysis of Pakistan cricket. He spits facts and his analysis is most of the time on point and worth listening to.

 

[mominsaigol]

But people love to vilify him because he speaks strongly against Dosti Yaari culture

I've never seen sikandar bakhts analysis. So I have no clue about him In that regard

 

[Mamoon]

Misbah talks as if he didn’t lead Pakistan to 8th rank in ODIs, 1/4 against West Indies in a World Cup game, back to back ICC tournament losses to India and never made the semifinals in any ICC tournament.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

He is the type of guy that would be good at gathering data, understanding conditions and understanding the limitations of the opposition. He is generally very good at this and its a skillset that is lacking in Pakistan.

What he is hopeless at is deciding what to do with that information and making out of the box decisions. His execution is lacking big time. This got particularly exposed in LOI cricket and in his tenure in the PCB.

I do think he would be good in an operational role.

 

[aukhan]

If I had started watching Pakistan cricket 2 years ago, I would have had this point of view. No matter how great he sounds, he didn't implement 10% of what he is preaching on camera. Modern day cricket changed after 2007. Misbah had the luxury of captaining the side for four years. His great cricket acumen and leadership can be summarized by this only that he and Waqar, after the World Cup loss, pushed for Azhar Ali to become the captain, even though Azhar was not even part of the ODI team (except for a couple of series) during his tenure.

Misbah "The Great Mind" is just a fraud.

 

[PakWC'11Champs]

We give way too much importance to the captain's influence. It is the talent. India has changed captains but their results are what they are based on their higher skill level and professionalism.

Imran Khan is a great leader but would win squat with the squads Misbah had. Misbah didn't have Inzi, Wasim Akram, Miandad level talent on any of his teams. It's night and day the talent that we once had. That's one of the main things many ignore in bashing Misbah's run. It's as if we all forget our bowling lineup consisted of players that were the likes of Mo Irfan. That our best Test bowling and white ball bowling were gone, with the spot fixing fiasco. Even our batting was horrendous in terms of talent around Younis and Misbah. It only has improved more recently. We just didn't have much talent between 2011-2015, the era in which Misbah led the team. He was a great leader, in my opinion. Give him the talent we've had in the last 2-3 years with the emergence of SSA, Rauf, Nasim, Babar, Rizwan, etc and you'd see a completely different result.

But all that said again I don't think one player/captain holds the weight that everyone seems to think. At this international level, it's all about skill level and depth. We don't have the right lineups vs some teams. We lack the skill, or just play the wrong lineups. Only so much a captain can do. I think Babar is a decent capatin, but in the end it comes down to our skill level. We don't have the same skill level as India, with the ball or the bat. We need to play extraordinary to compete with the elite teams. Skill wise, we're a 5th or 6th best type. Back in Misbah's time, we were probably 7th or 8th best in skill (taking into account the weak batting). This is the reality. Imran Khan's teams were loaded with GOAT talent like Miandad, Inzi, Wasim Akram etc. In all that there's been this narrative built in that Imran Khan (one man) can change a horrible team into a champ. It just doesn't work that way. Imran was the greatest leader, but his teams were also stacked and compared on a skill level with elite teams. Our current era teams don't.

 

[shokz1408]

My fav to listen to is shoaib Malik on asports.

 

[moghul]

Misbah infested Pakistan cricket with the diseases of tuk tuk, , defensive and losing mentality and team is yet to recover from it even after many years , might take a generation to recover. He has been the worst thing happened to Pakistan cricket, ever.

The worst thing is being the fact, he has been coming back to Pakistan cricket in different roles after destroying the team as captain and then as coach.

Pakistan cricket needs a long break from him , even as the TV analyst.

 

[Ali T]

We give way too much importance to the captain's influence. It is the talent. India has changed captains but their results are what they are based on their higher skill level and professionalism.

Imran Khan is a great leader but would win squat with the squads Misbah had. Misbah didn't have Inzi, Wasim Akram, Miandad level talent on any of his teams. It's night and day the talent that we once had. That's one of the main things many ignore in bashing Misbah's run. It's as if we all forget our bowling lineup consisted of players that were the likes of Mo Irfan. That our best Test bowling and white ball bowling were gone, with the spot fixing fiasco. Even our batting was horrendous in terms of talent around Younis and Misbah. It only has improved more recently. We just didn't have much talent between 2011-2015, the era in which Misbah led the team. He was a great leader, in my opinion. Give him the talent we've had in the last 2-3 years with the emergence of SSA, Rauf, Nasim, Babar, Rizwan, etc and you'd see a completely different result.

But all that said again I don't think one player/captain holds the weight that everyone seems to think. At this international level, it's all about skill level and depth. We don't have the right lineups vs some teams. We lack the skill, or just play the wrong lineups. Only so much a captain can do. I think Babar is a decent capatin, but in the end it comes down to our skill level. We don't have the same skill level as India, with the ball or the bat. We need to play extraordinary to compete with the elite teams. Skill wise, we're a 5th or 6th best type. Back in Misbah's time, we were probably 7th or 8th best in skill (taking into account the weak batting). This is the reality. Imran Khan's teams were loaded with GOAT talent like Miandad, Inzi, Wasim Akram etc. In all that there's been this narrative built in that Imran Khan (one man) can change a horrible team into a champ. It just doesn't work that way. Imran was the greatest leader, but his teams were also stacked and compared on a skill level with elite teams. Our current era teams don't.

I think captains can inspire their players to play and field just that bit better. Might not take a team to number one, but at least improve players efficiency by 10-20%.

If the captain is a good leader and commands respect in the dressing room, it evokes a mentality where players would want to avoid letting their skipper down.

Also for younger upcoming talent to have an inspiring captain could frame their mindset as they progress throughout the years in professional cricket.

Misbah seemed well respected in the dressing room and I guess his 'play it safe' methodology is something that the likes of Babar has carried on in his career.

On the other hand, Misbah did seem pretty calm and collected and created a good atmosphere within the team with minimal controversy which is also something that seems to have carried on.

Always pro's and cons.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Misbah infested Pakistan cricket with the diseases of tuk tuk, , defensive and losing mentality and team is yet to recover from it even after many years , might take a generation to recover. He has been the worst thing happened to Pakistan cricket, ever.

The worst thing is being the fact, he has been coming back to Pakistan cricket in different roles after destroying the team as captain and then as coach.

Pakistan cricket needs a long break from him , even as the TV analyst.

lol, you want to take away his analyst job so he can't earn. sorry but it seems like you have a personal problem with him.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Malik was a fraudulent cricketer who never performed or made an impact when it truly mattered. Like Shadab, he excelled only in the field and consistently relied on his connections to secure selection.

I am not a big fan of Malik and he was pretty controversial for Pak Cricket from 2007-2014. He even said he doesn't enjoy playing for Pak once during that period. From 2011-2014, he was at his career low and batted like a tailender.
But I would say he has still been one of the best players of spin in LOIs for Pak. And he has been very good in Asia and WI.
His high profile marriage to Sania Mirza groomed him for media handling and PR etc but his political/grudge side still makes frequent appearances here and there. He definitely caters to some journalists' lobby (especially after not getting an international farewell)

 

[PakPremi]

Misbah is a waste of time regardless of how much sense he makes. He can identify lots of basic things that other good teams are doing, but holds no vision or skill to implement on himself or any team that he captains/coaches.

He also has stubborn, pathetic views on white ball batting combinations and approaches.

On the Pavilion show, Shoaib Malik’s views are the most practical and applicable in modern cricket. He’s the most traveled player of the modern era in that panel, and he’s seen how the best white ball players in the world operate. On top of that he was actually a very decent captain in his earlier days.

I agree Shoaib Malik is the only one who actually gives views that are not just gol mol statements and actually presents solutions.

 

[Savak]

The Pavilion show is a real let down this season. Moin Khan's inclusion this year was extremely poor.

 

[Savak]

People watch the Pavilion show to see the banter, stories between the two W's and the anecdotes between them.

 

[Mamoon]

We give way too much importance to the captain's influence. It is the talent. India has changed captains but their results are what they are based on their higher skill level and professionalism.

Imran Khan is a great leader but would win squat with the squads Misbah had. Misbah didn't have Inzi, Wasim Akram, Miandad level talent on any of his teams. It's night and day the talent that we once had. That's one of the main things many ignore in bashing Misbah's run. It's as if we all forget our bowling lineup consisted of players that were the likes of Mo Irfan. That our best Test bowling and white ball bowling were gone, with the spot fixing fiasco. Even our batting was horrendous in terms of talent around Younis and Misbah. It only has improved more recently. We just didn't have much talent between 2011-2015, the era in which Misbah led the team. He was a great leader, in my opinion. Give him the talent we've had in the last 2-3 years with the emergence of SSA, Rauf, Nasim, Babar, Rizwan, etc and you'd see a completely different result.

But all that said again I don't think one player/captain holds the weight that everyone seems to think. At this international level, it's all about skill level and depth. We don't have the right lineups vs some teams. We lack the skill, or just play the wrong lineups. Only so much a captain can do. I think Babar is a decent capatin, but in the end it comes down to our skill level. We don't have the same skill level as India, with the ball or the bat. We need to play extraordinary to compete with the elite teams. Skill wise, we're a 5th or 6th best type. Back in Misbah's time, we were probably 7th or 8th best in skill (taking into account the weak batting). This is the reality. Imran Khan's teams were loaded with GOAT talent like Miandad, Inzi, Wasim Akram etc. In all that there's been this narrative built in that Imran Khan (one man) can change a horrible team into a champ. It just doesn't work that way. Imran was the greatest leader, but his teams were also stacked and compared on a skill level with elite teams. Our current era teams don't.

Totally agreed.

A captain is greatly enabled or disabled by the player he has at his disposal. In recent times, the greatest example is Eoin Morgan. England had a nightmare World Cup in 2015 under his leadership but they transformed overnight and went on an amazing run in the next 4 years and won the World Cup.

Same captain but two different teams in terms of skill and approach and two different results.

I agree with the general sentiment that Babar is a poor captain and I wouldn't oppose the idea of removing him as captain because ultimately, as captain, you live and die by results irrespective of how much credit or blame you share for the results.

However, people should temper their expectations and not make his captaincy the scapegoat. There is no way Pakistan will start beating the top sides more frequently with someone else in charge simply because the difference doesn't lie in who captaincy the side but it lies in the fact that there is a big gulf in the quality of the teams.

Regardless of who is leading Pakistan, the current team is not good enough to beat full-strength India, England, Australia and New Zealand over the course of a series in any conditions. If Pakistan can produce 3-4 world class, the results will take care of itself no matter who is captaining the side.

 

[Mamoon]

People watch the Pavilion show to see the banter, stories between the two W's and the anecdotes between them.

And the fan questions segment is rendered useless when the host is extremely selective and avoids questions that could put Wasim, Malik etc. on the stop. I would like to see Wasim's face if he is asked why and how he lost 4 times to India in World Cups if he knows exactly what Pakistan needed to do to beat India this time.

 

[adi_62941]

I am not a big fan of Malik and he was pretty controversial for Pak Cricket from 2007-2014. He even said he doesn't enjoy playing for Pak once during that period. From 2011-2014, he was at his career low and batted like a tailender.
But I would say he has still been one of the best players of spin in LOIs for Pak. And he has been very good in Asia and WI.
His high profile marriage to Sania Mirza groomed him for media handling and PR etc but his political/grudge side still makes frequent appearances here and there. He definitely caters to some journalists' lobby (especially after not getting an international farewell)

He was equally useless during his young age and wasted a spot. Never seen him scoring runs against SENA except for that t20 innings he played in a winning cause against Aus in 2007 T20 WC. He was good against India, Srilanka and other C level teams

 

[Mamoon]

Biggest problem with Malik and for Malik was his appointment as Test captain in 2007.

He was the right choice in white ball at the time but there is no way a middling and uncertain Test player getting appointed ahead of the likes of Younis, Yousuf etc. was going to end well. At least he was one of the first picks at the time in white ball.

However, in those days, multiple captains was not a common practice and PCB was forced into a tight spot because Younis turned down captaincy due to his usual dramas.

Younis taking over Test captaincy and Malik taking over ODI/T20 captaincy could have saved the drama and chaos that unfolded over the next 2-3 years.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He was equally useless during his young age and wasted a spot. Never seen him scoring runs against SENA except for that t20 innings he played in a winning cause against Aus in 2007 T20 WC. He was good against India, Srilanka and other C level teams

he scored 80 off 40 something against SA in 2003 i remember. Scored a brilliant 100 against india in SA in 2009 CT. For a player to have played this long, sure he didn't make it to the great level. But he's had a serviceable career for Pak.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

The Pavilion show is a real let down this season. Moin Khan's inclusion this year was extremely poor.

Wahab Riaz and Waqar were much better. The panel seemed to be genuinely having fun in last 2 editions.
Moin is too dull to listen to and even when he tries to be lively, he's boring.
Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain or even Azhar Mahmood would have been better additions than Moin.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Make no mistake,

The mess you find Pakistan in now is because of Misbah’s stupid decisions 4 years ago upon being appointed as Pakistan chief selector and head coach

Exactly , he can sit n talk all sense for day and night but we have seen what he can do with the full authority..

Im sure he talked as such to Imran Khan and got himself appointed as coach cum selector job but then during his tenure he brough in players like Asif Ali, Danish Aziz, Ifthikar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Imran khan jr, Sohail Khan, Kashif Bhatti etc..

And then he appointed Ramiz Raza , these two leeches (Misbah and Waqar) abscond overnight...

Who can forget his test tour to Aus which was full of comedies and errors, Yasir shah made a century to save some face.. Asad Shafiq century cake cutting ceremony...

 

[Kianig89]

Rashid latif Shoaib Malik are the best analyst

 

[hassan918]

I actually do like his analysis. For me, he is one of the wisest men to talk about cricket in Pakistan.

 

[Swing]

Nearly all cricketers who have played lots of international games, are going to be better analysts than anyone on this site, just because of their experience.

 

[zulfiqar]

In the Pavilion, the only two people that offer useful insight are Shoaib Malik & Misbah. Don't get me wrong - I like Wasim's stories and his presence in general as he's one of my huge sport heroes, and Moin is obviously very new to this and will hopefully learn with time.

For Malik - his commentary around how to play spin, or how a team functions and what a modern day player has to weigh when it comes to international T20 leagues vs domestic cricket in Pakistan etc is all insightful as someone who experienced all that very recently. But I find it irritating when he regularly cuts other people off and likes to have the last word. Also, some of his advice when it comes to big games falls flat because we all know that Malik had multiple opportunities to play in 'big games' during his career, and he failed every single time.

For Misbah - he often talks about aspects no one else thought of and offers a lot of insight into coaching, approach to a game, etc. that he learned from experience. I think he's the most analytical of all the ex-players I've seen on any show anywhere on cricket. The only problem is that as a coach/captain himself, he did not follow some of his own views. I am not willing to let him live down the statement he made on the Pavilion regarding Pakistan playing modern cricket, something to the effect of "To play aggressive cricket like England you need to have the right players. If you don't have the players, you have to adapt and play conservatively". I think this is where he failed as a leader. I think to play aggressively you have to have that mindset and preach it to your team. It's not just about hitting sixes - how many times have we seen Babar and Rizwan score at 10+ /over in T20s without hitting sixes? It's a mindset - it's this appproach that rest of world teams have - "Go out there and play your game". I'm 90%+ sure that when our batsmen go out to bat, other players say "Play the first few overs carefully and try to keep your wicket, and go for the big shots later". It seems like such a harmless statement, but even if it was Rohit Sharma saying this to someone like SKY, it would affect his batting because it's normal to want to adhere to your captain's/senior's advice.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Today in the prematch session in pavilion India vs SOuth Africa match.

Host asked

"Misbah what does it take for a batsman who gets the start doesn't stop at 50 and goes all the way. What mentally do you calculate in your head"

lol He is asking a question to someone who has never made a 100

 

[Asif321]

Best analyst. Dropped fakhar to number 6 and opened with Rizwan Babar

 

[Asif321]

Misbah talks as if he didn’t lead Pakistan to 8th rank in ODIs, 1/4 against West Indies in a World Cup game, back to back ICC tournament losses to India and never made the semifinals in any ICC tournament.

Lost a test to Zimbabwe too

 

[Kianig89]

Misbah talks so much sense, but the point to ponder is he has been at the helm of affairs for various terms coach selector blah blah yet he didn't implemented any of his ideologies infact this tuk tuk and stat paddling was sown during his reign

 

[mominsaigol]

Misbah talks so much sense, but the point to ponder is he has been at the helm of affairs for various terms coach selector blah blah yet he didn't implemented any of his ideologies infact this tuk tuk and stat paddling was sown during his reign

Because actions will always speak louder then words.

It's very easy to say the obvious.

 

[PakPremi]

Today in the prematch session in pavilion India vs SOuth Africa match.

Host asked

"Misbah what does it take for a batsman who gets the start doesn't stop at 50 and goes all the way. What mentally do you calculate in your head"

lol He is asking a question to someone who has never made a 100

He has in Tests and domestic level

 

[jnaveen1980]

He has in Tests and domestic level

Talking about ODIs.

 

[Savak]

I would say Salman Butt is the best analyst. If you discount his tainted past and just listen to him talk about cricket he talks the most sense and his views are perfectly in line with modern cricket.

 

[Nasty Naz]

I do think generally he is a good analyst but saying it and doing it when you're given reins to make the change is the difference.

Let's not forget, the first thing he did when he took over as head coach was completely change a settled T20 team by including players he knew when he coached and his friends in Shehzad & Umar Akmal. It failed spectacularly. He tried to bring back his over the hill buddy Mohammad Irfan & Imran Khan. Random players like Musa were brought onto the Test squad in Australia and Pakistan suffered in an epic humiliating fashion. They lost chasing 120 vs Zimbabwe and lose another ODI match vs Zimbabwe chasing at home. He didn't try to develop any spinners under his watch either, kept just going to the Yasir Shah well that had run completely dry already.

There was no positive or modern batting under him. In fact, him going to Babar/Rizwan as our opening T20 pair all but cemented that. Sure they made their runs but long-term, that pair hurt Pakistan more than it helped. It was just short-term thinking to prevent collapses but failed to bring the side into the modern day.

Him getting rid of Steve Rixon who had helped this team come a long way in their fielding and then they didn't have a fielding coach for a while and we saw the deteriorating fielding results during his era as well. It's a similar mentality to Babar where you say the right things and want to do the right things but when things get tough, they both go into a conservative shell and in a safe zone. Instead of investing in new, younger, bolder players, it's the same ol' proven & tested players that will reliably get you mediocre results is what ends up occurring.

 

[Suleiman]

He isn’t.

Wasim Akram is. An underrated captain when he wasn’t involved in shady business. His messing around with the darkness overshadows how intelligent of a captain he really was, a strong figure. Imran groomed him well but sadly he got distracted.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Superb analysis. I always thought you were one of his blind cheerleaders but you’ve earned my respect as you’ve shown that you’re objective and very much flexible with your thinking.

I don't love nor hate Misbah. Ultimately, he is a flawed player/captain/coach who tried to do what was best in his mind but it didn't work.