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Making Shoaib Malik the makeshift captain is one of PCB's biggest blunders

Hawkeye

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The only Pakistani cricketer of the 1990s still in the team, and yet to make any sort of mark as a batsman in 20 years.

Our most clueless PAK batsman outside Asia, who struggles to put bat on ball against anything above 135kph.

Making him the captain means he's going to be 100% in the world cup squad.

Where he will be utterly useless.

Why Mickey Arthur and Sarfraz Ahmed cannot think? Why such a liability is made the captain?
 
india second choice captain Rohit sharma

England second choice captain butler or root

Newzealnd second choice captain Guptill

and pakistan well never mind 37 year old malik.Sarfarz have make sure there is no single young competition for him as a captain
 
They didn't have any other options apart from Hafeez. Team is filled with accumulators. Depending upon the performance Babar would have been a first choice for me, but haven't seen him captaining the side in domestic.
 
He is more senior than Hafeez so he is the captain.
They cant hurt his sentiments by asking Hafeez to captain even though he is performing better in comparison.

But for Pakistan's sake i hope he does well even though i feel Hafeez is more shrewd and has been performing.
 
Like I said pakistan will get knocked out in group stages dw.

We're carrying a lot of baggage.

Just because Malik is a senior and Mickey Arthur's blue eyed boy, he gets to play, despite him having absolutely no use in England or South Africa.

It's all about seniority and having good relations with the right people.
 
Captaining is not a piece of cake
Who else will u ask to captain if not hafeez or Malik
Babar? Fakhar? Shadab? Imam? Shinwari? Amir? Or Shaheen?
 
He is just a makeshift captain. He is not a regular captain. So why get worked up so much. someone or other had to serve as the captain and one can find fault with all the players likewise, if they too were given this job.
 
that was perfect time to test babar azam
he has captained under 19 team if i am not wrong
 
The only Pakistani cricketer of the 1990s still in the team, and yet to make any sort of mark as a batsman in 20 years.

Our most clueless PAK batsman outside Asia, who struggles to put bat on ball against anything above 135kph.

Making him the captain means he's going to be 100% in the world cup squad.

Where he will be utterly useless.

Why Mickey Arthur and Sarfraz Ahmed cannot think? Why such a liability is made the captain?

Sarfaraz will be back in a week, till that time he will oversee the team from dressing room.... This stand in captain will have little powers....
 
Think there was no other choice. Hafeez and Mickey haven't gotten along in the past pretty sure, and think Mickey has been sceptical of his worth in the side, preferring Malik. You could get a clash of personalities there if Hafeez is put in a position of Power with Mickey as Coach.

Imad was the only other possible choice, but isn't a regular.
 
It's the old senior first formula. The most senior player becomes captain.
 
Is it the season for terming everything PCB does as "the biggest blunder"?

Some people really need to stop being so dramatic.
 
Trying to think who the alternative could have been and cannot think of any proper option.
 
Hafeez
Amir
Barbar
Imad

Hafeez after his recent dramas - no chance
Amir - no idea if he will even be in the team
Babar - don't even think he has captained much in domestic
Imad - another who is not an automatic pick
 
Best captaincy appointment in recent years. This tragic racial incident is a blessing in disguise. Finally, a true leader worthy of leading a team as talented as Pakistan.
 
He is just a makeshift captain. He is not a regular captain. So why get worked up so much. someone or other had to serve as the captain and one can find fault with all the players likewise, if they too were given this job.

Umm, it doesn't work like that.

Now he will have a 100% confirmed position in the team, even though he doesn't make the team on merit, can't bat.

He will have yet another case of specialist captain like Sarfraz. Who doesn't make the team on merit.


This is very very very bad for our future, and hurts our WC chances.
 
Hafeez would have been a automatic choice, but he sometime act like a politician and he thinks he has achieved the height of Imran Khan stature. Malik is a calm and cool, may be something we just need now to relax the atmosphere, we all saw how Sarfraz was in the last game shouting screaming like a school boy cricket captain.

Not having a Vice Captain is just going to make you angry, what is inzamam role just to select playing 15. Is this what he is getting paid for? Why is that he didn’t select a leader for the future. I think Shadab and Babar both should have been tried in Zim games but we are so scared of losing to even a minnow is just mind boggling.
 
Hafeez could be a temporary option. Would have preferred to see Babar to see if he is captaincy material.
 
Malik proved to be a great captain. Just look how he is encouraging more and more fielders around bat around Van Dursen who is not good with bat, especially with Shadab around.
 
Just goes to show the PCB has no longterm thinking in mind.
 
Hafeez after his recent dramas - no chance
Amir - no idea if he will even be in the team
Babar - don't even think he has captained much in domestic
Imad - another who is not an automatic pick

The truth is any of the recent regulars are a better option then a 38 year old, very rarely performing, senior who is fortunate to be in the side....

Here was an opportunity to test a youngster out but no instead we go to someone who is on his last legs..
 
As a makeshift captain not a bad choice but we could have Babar here. That will give him 4 matches and we could see if he can be a longterm option.

Malik's spot is not secure for WC anyways if Haris gets fit.
 
As a makeshift captain not a bad choice but we could have Babar here. That will give him 4 matches and we could see if he can be a longterm option.

Malik's spot is not secure for WC anyways if Haris gets fit.

Lol not taking Malik to the world cup would be criminal. Criminal id say!
 
Yes his success was there in the PSL for everyone to see.

His success in domestic t20s with unknown young players was for everyone to see. PSL is too reliant on foreign palyers and their performances. Quetta looked useless with out their foregn players. Misbah looked a beast captain due to Ronchi. Malik for years dominated with unknown names.
 
Lol not taking Malik to the world cup would be criminal. Criminal id say!

He will make the WC squad but i have feeling he will be dropped after few matches.

I dont like Hafeez and like Malik more especially Malik v2.0 but lets agree that Hafeez is superior player of fast bowling than Malik and Malik had a poor Champions Trophy too which was held in England.
 
His success in domestic t20s with unknown young players was for everyone to see. PSL is too reliant on foreign palyers and their performances. Quetta looked useless with out their foregn players. Misbah looked a beast captain due to Ronchi. Malik for years dominated with unknown names.

We’ve moved in from those days
He is now an aging cricketer who has maybe one or two good innings left in him...

The fact that he’s still in he side in 2019 is laughable.
 
Even commentators acknowledging the real difference was in captaincy, as Malik put fielders in, making hard for singles and also put pressure as catchers
 
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People going for cosmetic changes.

We cannot have a player as captain who doesn't perform and doesn't contribute as a player.

Malik fans who used to hate Sarfraz for not performing as an individual player and being a specialist captain are suddenly seeing no problems with that.

Cannot have a specialist captain who wastes a spot. He cannot bat, certainly not in England.
 
All commentators have commended shoaib malik as captain. He kept the pressure around and put the catchers in. Also, he didn't save his strike bowlers, for the end. He took the game from south africa's hands as they were looking for 300. Great captaincy and i hope they keep him around
 
People going for cosmetic changes.

We cannot have a player as captain who doesn't perform and doesn't contribute as a player.

Malik fans who used to hate Sarfraz for not performing as an individual player and being a specialist captain are suddenly seeing no problems with that.

Cannot have a specialist captain who wastes a spot. He cannot bat, certainly not in England.

Who should have been the captain? Or do you prefer a captainless team?
 
Excellent captaincy again, bringing in leg spinner when he could have continued with fast bowling. Difficult to pick variations.
 
Malik had a plan today. Intention was bowling out the opponent rather than letting them play 50 overs.
 
Malik had a plan today. Intention was bowling out the opponent rather than letting them play 50 overs.

Well put. Saifi would have just saved his strike bowlers. He would have instead opted Fakhar if he could, or some other part timers, the kind of thinking out of the box he has been upto recently.
 
Hope Malik usurps the captaincy from Sarfaraz permanently

It would be a blessing in disguise.

Some people on PP have it out for Malik eventhough he has been a rock in the middle-order and a calming influence on the younger players ever since his re-introduction into the team. Tactically aswell he's much sharper than anyone in the team currently.
 
Not really, who was the other option? Malik was the obvious choice. Hafeez has just made a comeback and the problem with appointing a Babar/Imad as captain is firstly, the obvious lack of captaincy experience, and secondly it opens up the dressing room to infighting between other 'junior' players who feel they might also be respectable candidates. 'junior players' so to speak never work as captains in the Pakistani dressing room culture, case in point was Malik himself in 2007. Your always looking at a senior player as a captain in Pakistan, period.
 
Also Baber is just starting develop into a good batsmen. Why would you burden him the with captaincy especially against South Africa. Malik was the only choice and good decision in the end.
 
I expected Hafeez, but do not mind Malik. Malik always has been good tactically.

He has been excellent thus far. Malik did one thing which was missing after Younus Khan: he blocked the singles which led to SA's collapse.

Got to give credit where it's due.
 
This thread has backfired a bit lol

But i think Fakhar could have been made captain for today's game.
 
Current Pakistan team is one good captain away from an ordinary to a good team .
 
Malik and Hafeez tactically are about just as good. They're both shrewd captains but only the latter makes the team on merit. Not to forget he captained the side superbly in the only ODI win during the last Australia tour.

In regards to long term options, the three best candidates in no particular order are:

Amir
Fakhar
Imad

Full credit to Shoaib Malik for how he led the side today. A real slap on the face to the loyalists of the Karachi Street Cricketer.
 
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No matter what the case it will be nice to have someone captain Pakistan who promotes a positive image, keeps his emotions in check in the field and is liked and respected by his team mates.

Malik has proved to be a good captain and with responsibility I am sure his performance will improve. On pitches prepared for the ODI format in mind, he should perform decently with the bat in WC19. We know he is an excellent catcher and very good fielder. His experience playing in T20 format around the leagues would be invaluable in setting fields for batsmen his has played with and against.

Sarfaraz's stock has been declining and the recent episode could be a defining moment for his career. He needs to accept his punishment, keep his head down and answer his critics with the kind of on-field performances which were instrumental in him being made the captain of the team.
 
People are missing the point. The same people who attacked Sarf for being a specialist captain and not being able to bat, are now loving Malik.

Malik is a worse batsman than Sarfraz, he isn't performing and cannot perform in England either.

All that talk of 'first make the team on merit' is now nowhere to be seen. Was that just your hate for Sarfraz?

Have a single standard.

If he cannot bat, he cannot be a specialist captain.
 
People are missing the point. The same people who attacked Sarf for being a specialist captain and not being able to bat, are now loving Malik.

Malik is a worse batsman than Sarfraz, he isn't performing and cannot perform in England either.

All that talk of 'first make the team on merit' is now nowhere to be seen. Was that just your hate for Sarfraz?

Have a single standard.

If he cannot bat, he cannot be a specialist captain.

He's gone after the WC. We won't win the WC whoever is captain. I would rather have Malik as a specalist captain than Sarfraz.

It's not a long term opition. Just relax.
 
He's gone after the WC. We won't win the WC whoever is captain. I would rather have Malik as a specalist captain than Sarfraz.

It's not a long term opition. Just relax.

i disagree with you.

we have a good chance of winning the world cup
 
People are missing the point. The same people who attacked Sarf for being a specialist captain and not being able to bat, are now loving Malik.

Malik is a worse batsman than Sarfraz, he isn't performing and cannot perform in England either.

All that talk of 'first make the team on merit' is now nowhere to be seen. Was that just your hate for Sarfraz?

Have a single standard.

If he cannot bat, he cannot be a specialist captain.

What form are you talking about? The one where he purposely didn't appear up in the order, in 2nd game and played for 40 odd? The one where he lost courage to lead probably? His batting form has been poor. Test series is reflection of that. Instead of owning up as a batsman, he criticized his bowlers. And later he score 40-50s
 
And he is sassy while talking to commentator after post presentation as well. Great remarks all around
 
I am not going to sit here and say Malik is best captain since IK or overhype his captaincy. He is far from perfect. But I have no issues if he skipper till the WC.

Under Sarfraz we wouldn't have competed and he has lost the players. Malik has the respect of the players and knows how to manage his bowling attack.

He did a good job today. It will be interesting to see how he does in the next game. I hope he keeps on attacking and doesn't resort to defensive fields.
 
I am not going to sit here and say Malik is best captain since IK or overhype his captaincy. He is far from perfect. But I have no issues if he skipper till the WC.

Under Sarfraz we wouldn't have competed and he has lost the players. Malik has the respect of the players and knows how to manage his bowling attack.

He did a good job today. It will be interesting to see how he does in the next game. I hope he keeps on attacking and doesn't resort to defensive fields.

I agree.
 
I am not going to sit here and say Malik is best captain since IK or overhype his captaincy. He is far from perfect. But I have no issues if he skipper till the WC.

Under Sarfraz we wouldn't have competed and he has lost the players. Malik has the respect of the players and knows how to manage his bowling attack.

He did a good job today. It will be interesting to see how he does in the next game. I hope he keeps on attacking and doesn't resort to defensive fields.

I hope there was an agree button. Would love Malik till world cup as well. I don't know why Saifi gets so much love despite being such a poor bloke all around in recent times, especially in the captaincy department.
 
People are missing the point. The same people who attacked Sarf for being a specialist captain and not being able to bat, are now loving Malik.

Malik is a worse batsman than Sarfraz, he isn't performing and cannot perform in England either.

All that talk of 'first make the team on merit' is now nowhere to be seen. Was that just your hate for Sarfraz?

Have a single standard.

If he cannot bat, he cannot be a specialist captain.

I second this.

The same principle applies. Going by history Malik should not be part of the World Cup squad yet just a few series to go and he is not just playing but captaining the team.
 
We have been playing with a non-playing and foul mouthing captain for sometimes . Four months is too short a time to nurture a young one, make Shoaib the captain for the WC and let Rizwan the keeper and we will have a better team and result.
 
I thought Malik did a decent job. One thing to note, and theres no getting away from this, is how much calmer the team appeared underneath him, perhaps because the players knew that they wouldn't get an earful every time they make a mistake such is Maliks character on the playing field. Let's take nothing away from Sarfaraz, he's down and out in my opinion at the moment but I still think he's the right man for the world cup job, that CT win has to count for something and he hasn't been a terrible captain. Malik has proved his credentials though as an emergency captain if the need arises in the World Cup.
 
I like Malik , but making him captain permanently till the World Cup is foolish .

Firstly his batting had tailed of considerably and he has not really done anything of note in this series . I actually believe he possibly was on the brink of getting dropped after a few more failures .

Secondly the World Cup is in England . Malik’s record batting average in England after 20 one dayers is 12 !! Yes 12 . I don’t believe he should be in the squad .

I don’t tbink he deserves a place in the team for these reasons . Will be a liability , similar to Hafeez .
Both a proven failures in ICC tournaments.
 
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He did well today so should be praised. If he does badly it will be pointed out. We shouldn't make the mistake of making claims such as best captain since IK and other claims.

I know but they way in which he carried himself and captained was great. He went for the wickets and did not get bogged down when Faf and Amla were building the partnership and kept attacking, and believing in his bowlers. Seems like the boys enjoyed playing under him as well. If we win this series now which we will he should be made captain for the World Cup.

Now I am going to try to restrain from coming back to this thread because I know if I return I will see the usual posts by you know who, about how this was a fluke/lucky performance and if Malik is the best we can do as a captain than we should be ashamed as a nation, and look at India and how great they are blah blah blah. :))) Man the structure of those posts are getting a bit one dimensional at this point. :))
 
I don’t tbink he deserves a place in the team for these reasons . Will be a liability , similar to Hafeez .
Both a proven failures in ICC tournaments.

lol hafeez is a proven failure in ICC tournaments?

go watch the 2011 world cup quarter final

and then go watch the ct 2017 final
 
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I hope this thread (and so many others like these) teaches a lesson why real experience counts. There’s value that Shoaib, Hafeez, Dhoni brings in their teams that cant be fulfilling by replacing him by another shiny young kid from under-19 team. It’s not just how hard you play but how you play that matters.
 
Joke of a thread. Malik being captain is great for the team. He's honestly the best thinker in Pakistan cricket atm. Should stay as captain while sarfraz should be dropped permanently.
 
He will have yet another case of specialist captain like Sarfraz. Who doesn't make the team on merit.

I don't get it.

I've seen Sarfraz being called both a specialist captain and a specialist wicket-keeper. Which is he?

Both?

Then is he a specialist?
 
In WC, Malik will struggle against SA, Aus, Nz, maybe even WI who have good fast bowlers. He will be useful against Ind, Ban, Srilanka, England. On batting merit alone he should not be in the world cup but it seems like we are stuck with two specialist captains and it is about choosing the better captain among them.
 
I know but they way in which he carried himself and captained was great. He went for the wickets and did not get bogged down when Faf and Amla were building the partnership and kept attacking, and believing in his bowlers. Seems like the boys enjoyed playing under him as well. If we win this series now which we will he should be made captain for the World Cup.

Now I am going to try to restrain from coming back to this thread because I know if I return I will see the usual posts by you know who, about how this was a fluke/lucky performance and if Malik is the best we can do as a captain than we should be ashamed as a nation, and look at India and how great they are blah blah blah. :))) Man the structure of those posts are getting a bit one dimensional at this point. :))


He had the respect of the players and is also good at managing the bowlers. Think that comes from him being a bowler himself.

Just ignore the posts. Malik is smart , knows how to manage bowlers , respected in the dressing room, 1 of the fittest players in Pakistan. I don't think him being captain is something to be ashamed of.
 
One thing that Malik being captain is, it will definitely be a boost for the younger players.
 
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