Is Nepotism and Seniority Bias Weakening Teams?

[mominsaigol]

For off before I begin I'd like to explain Nepotism and Seniority Bias.

Nepotism : Nepotism is when someone gets appointed in a role based of family or friend connections irrespective of whether they actually warrant the position or not, It is different from netoworking as networking includes being offered the position however the person hired has the skills and qualifications to actually warrant the role.

Seniority Bias: Seniority Bias is the preference of selecting longer tenured individuals in a position irrespective of current Competence.

Now with that out of the way, In this world cup alone their have been numerous examples of how nepotism and Seniority Bias has made teams weaker.

1) Pakistan :

- The Selection of Azam Khan(Nepotism),
- The consistent selection of Shadab Khan over Abrar( Seniority Bias),
- The exclusion of Mehran Mumtaz and Mohammad Ali over Amir and Imad( Seniority bias),
- The reappointment of Babar Azam As captain( Seniority bias)
- The favouring of Muhammad Rizwan at opening over other possible opening options such as Usman or Fakhar? (Seniority Bias)
- The exclusion of many young bloods who impressed over the past year such as Abdullah shafiq, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Shabzada farhan, zafar gohar, Mir Hamza etc over tried and tested failures such as Chacha (Seniority bias + Nepotism)

2) India

- The Constant Inclusion of Kohli and Rohit in t20 as well as both being openers which blocks pathways for Jaiswal( Seniority Bias)
- The Inclusion of Jadeja and Shivam Dube over young blood such as Rinku Singh( Seniority bias + Incorrect decision)

3) Australia

- Excluding Jake Fraser for Josh Inglish/ Mattew Wade( Yes im aware fraser is an opener but hes a keeper, imo this is seniority bias although not to the extent of other countries)

4) New Zealand

Pretty much 90% of the squad. Neither of these boys had played for months and their c team is currently superior to the main string. More time should have been allocated to tim robinson, Siefert and other rising young blood. Secondly, Williamson should have left t20 sooner.

We've also had various other examples in past tournaments or past tours.

For example Shan Masood was made captain out of blue despite not warranting a place in the squad.

In 2023 world cup, Joe root, Bairstow and Ben stokes were recalled to play world cup 2023 after being absent for 4 years in odi, This understably caused England to lose to even minnows. Would have been more beneficial to focus on Phil Salt, Vince and other upcoming blood.

Bavuma for South Africa has also been a long time Captain and opener for SA despite being the weakest link, simply because SA must fulfil a quota system.

Theirs many more examples but you get the point.

The likes of Absheik, Saud Shakeel, Jake fraser, Tim Robinson and many many more are unable to properly develop in time due to Nepotism and Seniority Bias.

 

[mominsaigol]

A few key things to note is that nepotism and Seniority Bias is not exclusive to Pakistan only.

Surprisingly England in 2023 WC were the biggest culprit, and in 2024 t20 wc NZ are the biggest culprit.

However the question remains, England since 2023 learned from their mistakes. For NZ we'll have to wait and see as this is the first time they've blundered to such an insane degree.

Pakistan has had this issue the longest ranging nearly 4+ Years now. When will Pakistan learn?

 

[deltexas]

For off before I begin I'd like to explain Nepotism and Seniority Bias.

Nepotism : Nepotism is when someone gets appointed in a role based of family or friend connections irrespective of whether they actually warrant the position or not, It is different from netoworking as networking includes being offered the position however the person hired has the skills and qualifications to actually warrant the role.

Seniority Bias: Seniority Bias is the preference of selecting longer tenured individuals in a position irrespective of current Competence.

Now with that out of the way, In this world cup alone their have been numerous examples of how nepotism and Seniority Bias has made teams weaker.

1) Pakistan :

- The Selection of Azam Khan(Nepotism),
- The consistent selection of Shadab Khan over Abrar( Seniority Bias),
- The exclusion of Mehran Mumtaz and Mohammad Ali over Amir and Imad( Seniority bias),
- The reappointment of Babar Azam As captain( Seniority bias)
- The favouring of Muhammad Rizwan at opening over other possible opening options such as Usman or Fakhar? (Seniority Bias)
- The exclusion of many young bloods who impressed over the past year such as Abdullah shafiq, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Shabzada farhan, zafar gohar, Mir Hamza etc over tried and tested failures such as Chacha (Seniority bias + Nepotism)

2) India

- The Constant Inclusion of Kohli and Rohit in t20 as well as both being openers which blocks pathways for Jaiswal( Seniority Bias)
- The Inclusion of Jadeja and Shivam Dube over young blood such as Rinku Singh( Seniority bias + Incorrect decision)

3) Australia

- Excluding Jake Fraser for Josh Inglish/ Mattew Wade( Yes im aware fraser is an opener but hes a keeper, imo this is seniority bias although not to the extent of other countries)

4) New Zealand

Pretty much 90% of the squad. Neither of these boys had played for months and their c team is currently superior to the main string. More time should have been allocated to tim robinson, Siefert and other rising young blood. Secondly, Williamson should have left t20 sooner.

We've also had various other examples in past tournaments or past tours.

For example Shan Masood was made captain out of blue despite not warranting a place in the squad.

In 2023 world cup, Joe root, Bairstow and Ben stokes were recalled to play world cup 2023 after being absent for 4 years in odi, This understably caused England to lose to even minnows. Would have been more beneficial to focus on Phil Salt, Vince and other upcoming blood.

Bavuma for South Africa has also been a long time Captain and opener for SA despite being the weakest link, simply because SA must fulfil a quota system.

Theirs many more examples but you get the point.

The likes of Absheik, Saud Shakeel, Jake fraser, Tim Robinson and many many more are unable to properly develop in time due to Nepotism and Seniority Bias.

Bro - love your threads when you start them. Very comprehensive cricket related discussion no matter which side you are on. Makes for a good discussion or debate even if there is any disagreement or a difference in opinion. No blind or irrational hating or opinions. Politics aside ( there is Timepass forum for that!) , a really good cricketing discussion that enhances this forum !

 

[deltexas]

Bro - love your threads when you start them. Very comprehensive cricket related discussion no matter which side you are on. Makes for a good discussion or debate even if there is any disagreement or a difference in opinion. No blind or irrational hating or opinions. Politics aside ( there is Timepass forum for that!) , a really good cricketing discussion that enhances this forum !

Or maybe I should say , instead of Bro - C'mon Maite ! ( with an emphasis on ""I" the Aussie way! )

 

[kach]

India will select conservatively as long as the Bombay and South mafia controls the shots for the shorter format. Gambhir as coach and Sehwag as selector can make a difference.

 

[pratiktc]

OP makes a lot of assumptions and presenting as facts.

It is better to focus on specific issues and examine them than trying to connect disparate events to draw a forced generalization.

The reality is that picking a squad is not an exact science and post hoc analysis fallacy should be avoided.

In the case of Pakistan, they do not suffer so much from nepotism than lack of resources in middle order white ball batting. Their selection panel also is continuously changing and thus unable to have a continued vision or roadmap for player selection and development

OP is positing as if Azam Khan is a forced entry by appointment letter into PCT squad. He is there more as a hail mary pick by selectors (albeit incredibly badly judged given his guaranteed fitness downside) because in last 5 yrs nobody in Pak has been able to showcase any sustained promis or performance in 4-7 batting slots.

On global stage over last 5 yrs the gold standard for #4-7 batters have been below

SKY 28 inns 1127@167 SR
Philips 40 inns 1230@151
Miller 32 inns 759@150
Stoinis 34 inns 773@153

It should be recognised that this is a difficult role with high failure rate and several highly rated players like Maxwell, Moeen, Pandya, David eho have had long streaks of indifferent form have still been backed and persisted with simply for their high ceiling potential on a given day. Secondary skills have also helped.

In contrast Pak has given several players a go but neither have these succeeded or even showed enterprise/high ceiling potential to succeed at intl level.

Ifti 44 inns 746@121
Nawaz 25 inns 375@148
Shadab 27 inns 412@137
Fakhar 14 inns 370@154

Imad 20 inns 313@120
Asif 24 inns 246@140
Haider 15 inns 215@125
Khusdil 16 inns 197@93
Faheem 9 inns 93@130

It is the utter failures of Asif, Haider, Khusdil, Faheem that have kept Ifti, Shadab in team and opened door for Azam.

Even in PSL Azam's numbers (10 inns 226 @171) were just ok but compared to other potential keeper bat candidates (Haris 10 inns 142@132) atleast appeared puntworthy. The selectors probably thought they could hide him as a keeper and use him as a wildcard spin hitter. That final England T20I exposed Azam's keeping but by then Pak selectors had already committed.

 

[mominsaigol]

OP makes a lot of assumptions and presenting as facts.

It is better to focus on specific issues and examine them than trying to connect disparate events to draw a forced generalization.

The reality is that picking a squad is not an exact science and post hoc analysis fallacy should be avoided.

In the case of Pakistan, they do not suffer so much from nepotism than lack of resources in middle order white ball batting. Their selection panel also is continuously changing and thus unable to have a continued vision or roadmap for player selection and development

OP is positing as if Azam Khan is a forced entry by appointment letter into PCT squad. He is there more as a hail mary pick by selectors (albeit incredibly badly judged given his guaranteed fitness downside) because in last 5 yrs nobody in Pak has been able to showcase any sustained promis or performance in 4-7 batting slots.

On global stage over last 5 yrs the gold standard for #4-7 batters have been below

SKY 28 inns 1127@167 SR
Philips 40 inns 1230@151
Miller 32 inns 759@150
Stoinis 34 inns 773@153

It should be recognised that this is a difficult role with high failure rate and several highly rated players like Maxwell, Moeen, Pandya, David eho have had long streaks of indifferent form have still been backed and persisted with simply for their high ceiling potential on a given day. Secondary skills have also helped.

In contrast Pak has given several players a go but neither have these succeeded or even showed enterprise/high ceiling potential to succeed at intl level.

Ifti 44 inns 746@121
Nawaz 25 inns 375@148
Shadab 27 inns 412@137
Fakhar 14 inns 370@154

Imad 20 inns 313@120
Asif 24 inns 246@140
Haider 15 inns 215@125
Khusdil 16 inns 197@93
Faheem 9 inns 93@130

It is the utter failures of Asif, Haider, Khusdil, Faheem that have kept Ifti, Shadab in team and opened door for Azam.

Even in PSL Azam's numbers (10 inns 226 @171) were just ok but compared to other potential keeper bat candidates (Haris 10 inns 142@132) atleast appeared puntworthy. The selectors probably thought they could hide him as a keeper and use him as a wildcard spin hitter. That final England T20I exposed Azam's keeping but by then Pak selectors had already committed.

Let's be honest. If azam wasn't moin Khan's son, he wouldn't be in the team. Theirs literally a video online where azam straight up says he was dropped but came back In the team due to his dad