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

[Pete Rose]

One thing that Malik being captain is, it will definitely be a boost for the younger players.

A lot of young guys in Pakistan credit Malik for helping them develop. He had the formula worked out well for his Multan team before psl came to be

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Malik may or may not be the right choice.

Even so, his captaincy has put Sarfraz's leadership in serious light.

Now it is up to Sarfraz and PCB to do some reflection and make important decisions.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

A lot of young guys in Pakistan credit Malik for helping them develop. He had the formula worked out well for his Multan team before psl came to be

You probably meant Sialkot.

He regularly visits a club there as well to promote club cricket. He is the reason guys like Haris Sohail, Usama Mir and Umaid Asif got a little bit of attention.

 

[Pete Rose]

You probably meant Sialkot.

He regularly visits a club there as well to promote club cricket. He is the reason guys like Haris Sohail, Usama Mir and Umaid Asif got a little bit of attention.

Sorry yes I meant Sialkot. I think even Haris had some stuff to say about Maliks contribution in an interview. I like umaid Asif

 

[Mobashir]

Malik is a lot better player than Sarfraz, plus Sarfraz is blocking an inform Rizwan to play.
Rizwan at 4 may be what we need.

 

[Chokli]

Malik is a lot better player than Sarfraz, plus Sarfraz is blocking an inform Rizwan to play.
Rizwan at 4 may be what we need.

i think it was at 4 he was batting for Pakistan A when he was notching up those big scores

 

[Mobashir]

i think it was at 4 he was batting for Pakistan A when he was notching up those big scores

Yes.
Just like Sarfraz, Rizwan can't really bat at 6, but at least he can be a reliable batsman at 4.
In situations like 10 overs 40/2, or 20 overs 90/2.

With Sarfraz, you are quite sure he will not score more than 30 runs and he isn't a striker of the ball.

 

[Mobashir]

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.

We surely aren't favorite to win the world cup and there are better teams than us. I also don't rate our current team highly but what I know, is that our bowling line up is very good. It's very hard to chase a target against us. Anything around 270, whatever the conditions are, our bowlers make it hard for the opposition. So we are not completely our of it.

 

[Chokli]

We surely aren't favorite to win the world cup and there are better teams than us. I also don't rate our current team highly but what I know, is that our bowling line up is very good. It's very hard to chase a target against us. Anything around 270, whatever the conditions are, our bowlers make it hard for the opposition. So we are not completely our of it.

the 4th spot is a toss up between australia, pakistan and south africa.

anything can happen.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Malik minus his politics (which currently he does not do any way) is actually a good replacement captain.

 

[Hasan123]

We surely aren't favorite to win the world cup and there are better teams than us. I also don't rate our current team highly but what I know, is that our bowling line up is very good. It's very hard to chase a target against us. Anything around 270, whatever the conditions are, our bowlers make it hard for the opposition. So we are not completely our of it.

Yes that's fair enough. I think we should aim to get to the semis and take it from there.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Shoaib Malik should lead Pakistan in the World Cup - Sarfraz Nawaz.

 

[Mobashir]

Yes that's fair enough. I think we should aim to get to the semis and take it from there.

That's going to be the hard part for us. In a knock out match we are favorite against South Africa, New Zealand and even this very good English team. The dangerous teams in knock outs, for us, will be India and Australia.

 

[Hasan123]

That's going to be the hard part for us. In a knock out match we are favorite against South Africa, New Zealand and even this very good English team. The dangerous teams in knock outs, for us, will be India and Australia.

We seem to know how to beat South Africa in ICC tournament matches. Depends on the pitch if we are to beat England . On a flat pitch, we will be in trouble versus England.

 

[Chokli]

We seem to know how to beat South Africa in ICC tournament matches. Depends on the pitch if we are to beat England . On a flat pitch, we will be in trouble versus England.

all in all, it's going to be one helluva world cup

 

[Hasan123]

all in all, it's going to be one helluva world cup

Agreed. Looking forward to it.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Personally, I'd much rather have Malik as captain than Sarfraz. I believe he is much better tactically, with rotating bowlers etc. And I think he's far less rote than Sarfraz - he can adjust quickly to a new plan if the first one isn't working out.

The PCB is far too conservative to sack Sarfraz over this incident and Malik too old for the longer term - so I guess we are stuck with Sarfraz for WC etc.

 

[Pete Rose]

Personally, I'd much rather have Malik as captain than Sarfraz. I believe he is much better tactically, with rotating bowlers etc. And I think he's far less rote than Sarfraz - he can adjust quickly to a new plan if the first one isn't working out.

The PCB is far too conservative to sack Sarfraz over this incident and Malik too old for the longer term - so I guess we are stuck with Sarfraz for WC etc.

The question to ask is what’s worse
- both Sarfaraz and Malik playing (ideal answer is neither make the odi team on current batting form), or
- only one of them playing
I blv Pakistan’s chances of winning will be more determined by which one of them plays vs which one of them is captain (if both are playing)

 

[MMHS]

Really surprised with Malik’s selection - I was expecting Hafeez. Malik himself wasn’t interested for the hot seat, but there must have been some discussions between him & management; IuH also is in SAF.

But, I agree with OP here - making Malik captain (possibly might be in WC as well), actually keeps the same problem for which Sarfraz was criticised. A captain must make the playing XI on merit and don’t think Malik now makes it for a wc in UK. He might improve in WC, but as of now between the 2 seniors, I'll take Hafeez on batting.

Having said that, if it’s a choice between Malik & Sarfraz as specialist captain, it has to be Malik. Also, Sarfraz is blocking Rizwan, who looked to be much better WK.

 

[gazza619]

This one image is enough for me to keep Malik as captain.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sshakir411]

No, it isn't. You can't hand Babar or Amir or some young kid captaincy in between a series that's not lost. Shoaib is the right choice and def a better option than Hafeez.

 

[The Viper]

Malik captained well. But his own form is a concern but it does at least give Rizwan the opportunity.

 

[coy0607]

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

how is that? if anything, young players like Babar, Imam, Fakhar, Shadab, Hassan, Shaheen, Usman, Faheem have either emerged or established themselves during Sarfraz's captaincy. Did you forget how things were with Misbah?

and besides, its not Sarfraz's job to groom a replacement captain

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

The question to ask is what’s worse
- both Sarfaraz and Malik playing (ideal answer is neither make the odi team on current batting form), or
- only one of them playing
I blv Pakistan’s chances of winning will be more determined by which one of them plays vs which one of them is captain (if both are playing)

Nah. Malik would come good with the bat I think.

Besides, the captaincy difference really shows imo. Sarfraz just is not a very good captain with field settings and using his bowlers.

 

[Syed1]

It's lovely to see people's hypocrisy coming to the fore as they fully get behind another 'specialist captain' having called Sarfaraz exactly that for the better part of two years.



In any case, I think the team responded well under Malik and he should be the captain until the WC even after Sarf's ban finishes.

 

[CricketDon]

Need to see more of babar captaincy in PSL and domestic get. Not many choices tbh.

I know I’m gonna get killed for saying this but Hafeez should of been made captain. He’s actually a thinker

 

[Misia]

calm collected inteligent captain, what did we see today, cal relaxed happy team, and above all a very easy victory.. bring sufraz back

 

[CadPakFan]

If Malik wins us the next game then I will back him.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

It's lovely to see people's hypocrisy coming to the fore as they fully get behind another 'specialist captain' having called Sarfaraz exactly that for the better part of two years.



In any case, I think the team responded well under Malik and he should be the captain until the WC even after Sarf's ban finishes.

So I guess you are one of those people? Is that what you're trying to say?

 

[Syed1]

So I guess you are one of those people? Is that what you're trying to say?

No since I never called Sarfaraz a specialist captain

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

No since I never called Sarfaraz a specialist captain

Ok, so it's just you generalizing and criticizing "people" for being hypocrites.

Why don't you call out whoever you want to call out.

 

[Pete Rose]

Nah. Malik would come good with the bat I think.

Besides, the captaincy difference really shows imo. Sarfraz just is not a very good captain with field settings and using his bowlers.

We’ll see but his numbers post comeback are clear about his struggles.

 

[hafizexpress]

A lot of people here suggesting that a youngster should have been tried out for captaincy in Sarfraz's absence but that is absurd with the series in line. The next two most experienced were Hafeez and Shoaib which means they were the safest options to go by.

Also, why do so many people eagerly want to see Babar become captain right now? He doesn't have the character and attitude or fire of one. Lately he has been batting good so let's keep him to doing that but he shouldn't be given captaincy until he seems capable of carrying that responsibility and burden. He hasn't even captained in domestic much.

 

[ahmadharis1]

Malik was best choice as stand-in captain, experienced and tactically skilled.

 

[giri26]

Well since this is temporary it is fine but Pakistan need to make a regular ODI member as Sarfaraz's deputy. The makeshift captains aren't great for long term development of the team.

 

[happydavy]

Malik had nothing to lose and he knew he had to impress fans during this short stint, so he went for agressive captaincy. It's when it becomes an accountable job that demands results, agressiveness goes out of window slowly and pragmatism takes over.

 

[yasir]

One basic thing most Fans don’t get it that Wicket Keeper is almost always a temp Captain, till you get a real one.

Why? Because wicket keeper is not a tier 1 performer, with the exception of Gilly. Captain has to be tier 1 performer aka your best batsman or bowler or allrounder or near about the best.

Sarfraz is average wicket keeper, and batting wise even more average, he is like our 4/5 best batsman at most. In reality there is no expectation that Sarfraz will win you matches.

Even in CT, he did not do anything expect in SL match, that too after two drop catches, even in that partnership Amir was lot more compose. We won CT thanks to Hasan, Amir and Fakhar, simple as that...

As a team, one should never be satisfied with tier 3/4 performer as Captain, because his position is always questionable.

Reason Pakistan focus on seniors as Captain because of lack of education among players. Our players need 6/8 years of international exposure before been made Captain, this is a major draw back, we keep tier 3 level seniors far too long because of this issue and compromise of team combination. But that does not means seniors are deserving, far from it. Our seniors are mostly stroll along shamelessly, because they know juniors cannot be made leaders...

This is fundamentally a cultural problem, which stems from poor educational infrastructure and too much focus on conservatism both in social and educational cultural.

We will keep on suffering until we address our cultural issues, senior culture will not go away, till more polished individuals are handed over to national side at very young age.

 

[saeedhk]

This thread has backfired a bit lol

But i think Fakhar could have been made captain for today's game.

He doesn't even deserve to play in the team and you want him to be the captain? Not to mention his weak mental game. He would surrender under pressure, as he always does when batting.

 

[xricket]

He doesn't even deserve to play in the team and you want him to be the captain? Not to mention his weak mental game. He would surrender under pressure, as he always does when batting.

His mental game isn't weak. His technique is. He doesn't know how to maneuver strike if bowlers dont give him width or bowl short ball at his body. Or, just in dippers

 

[Hawkeye]

All this talk of 'omg such a great captain!!1' will go out the window if/when he does get to lead on a consistent basis.

These one off games are good for temporary show and when people say "ok, we won this game because of his captaincy" is a very biased, subjective opinion. Not based on objectivity.

Before this match the team was doing very very well, so how come you didn't praise Sarfraz for the excellent 1st and 3rd match?

Malik had nothing to lose and he knew he had to impress fans during this short stint, so he went for agressive captaincy. It's when it becomes an accountable job that demands results, agressiveness goes out of window slowly and pragmatism takes over.

Basically this.

A very fine, objective post.

You can never have a specialist captain who doesn't contribute to team with his performance.

 

[Mobashir]

All this talk of 'omg such a great captain!!1' will go out the window if/when he does get to lead on a consistent basis.

These one off games are good for temporary show and when people say "ok, we won this game because of his captaincy" is a very biased, subjective opinion. Not based on objectivity.

Before this match the team was doing very very well, so how come you didn't praise Sarfraz for the excellent 1st and 3rd match?



Basically this.

A very fine, objective post.

You can never have a specialist captain who doesn't contribute to team with his performance.

You are repeating this over and over, as if Sarfraz was Gilchrist.
Shoaib Malik is in the team anyway, no way he is going to be dropped before the world cup so better have just one of the two. Rizwan is a much better option than Sarfraz.

 

[aukhan]

Malik the player is miles better than Sarfraz. Malik can never be called a specialist captain. The comparison between both is ridiculous. Sarfraz is not good enough to lace Malik's boot as a player or captain.

 

[Mobashir]

Malik the player is miles better than Sarfraz. Malik can never be called a specialist captain. The comparison between both is ridiculous. Sarfraz is not good enough to lace Malik's boot as a player or captain.

Completely agree;
Opening poster is not even thinking about what he is writing. Comparing Malik the player vs Sarfraz the player is an insult.

 

[Madplayer]

Malik is a lot better player than Sarfraz, plus Sarfraz is blocking an inform Rizwan to play.
Rizwan at 4 may be what we need.

Rizwan should first learn how to play spin. If the ball spins a fraction of a centimetre, he is a sitting duck because he admitted he tries to read spinners off the pitch.

 

[Madplayer]

He doesn't even deserve to play in the team and you want him to be the captain? Not to mention his weak mental game. He would surrender under pressure, as he always does when batting.

A mentally weak player doesnt score a ton in an ICC final. Think he is short on confidence. Talking about his captaincy, he is tactically very sound if you followed his domestic captaincy stint.

 

[Hawkeye]

Malik the player is miles better than Sarfraz. Malik can never be called a specialist captain. The comparison between both is ridiculous. Sarfraz is not good enough to lace Malik's boot as a player or captain.

Completely agree;
Opening poster is not even thinking about what he is writing. Comparing Malik the player vs Sarfraz the player is an insult.

It is indeed an insult. Both cannot be compared!

Malik is playing from the 1990s, for 20 years, and still averages in single digits or 10s/20s outside Asia (SENA) countries.

Sarfraz, though no Tendu, is a far better and reliable batsman, and not as clueless against fast bowlers as Malik is!

Malik, in the last 2 years averages 16 in England/NZ/SA/Aus.

Sarfraz in the last 2 years averages 29 in England/NZ/SA/Aus.


Be neutral.

As much as I don't like Sarfraz, he has far more value than Malik, and certainly a lot more in England where the World Cup is.

Malik shouldn't even be in the team.

cc [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION]

 

[JibranAnsari]

I would have tried babar.

Amirs odi performance does not warrant him place in the side.

Its ok though , sarfraz will be back in the next series as captain.

If rizwan scores a big one in the next odi then the scenario could get interesting.

 

[GreenKhan]

Yes he is generally a failure in ICC torunaments. Ill break it down further.

In 22 innnings in 50 overs ICC tournamentS which includes champtions trophy, and ICC world cup, Hafeez has the following record.

Runs 482
Fifties- 2
Hunders 0
Average . 27

That is a very poor record for some body who is meant to be a "senior and experienced ". Those two innings you are referring to are his only two noteworthy innings IN 20 PLUS icc innings..

His record in ICC world t20 is
24 matches- 1 50 and an average of 20!

He is only in the team due to this seniority complex we have, and to be honest if you are going to be given so many chances to play in big tourmaments you are bound to score once i a while. So yes to answer your question he is a liabillity and generally a failure on big occasions and in big tournaments, and in reality others should be given a chance.

 

[silentkiller187]

Decision would have been made last minute, PCB were aware of Sarfraz ban very late. Common sense dictates you put someone in as a deputy who knows what they are doing, and Malik done a good job. Its not like this will be a long term solution so stop being s dramatic.

 

[octavian]

Never thought I'd ever say this but Malik looked like a much better captain than we have had for a while.

 

[octavian]

Really surprised with Malik’s selection - I was expecting Hafeez. Malik himself wasn’t interested for the hot seat, but there must have been some discussions between him & management; IuH also is in SAF.

But, I agree with OP here - making Malik captain (possibly might be in WC as well), actually keeps the same problem for which Sarfraz was criticised. A captain must make the playing XI on merit and don’t think Malik now makes it for a wc in UK. He might improve in WC, but as of now between the 2 seniors, I'll take Hafeez on batting.

Having said that, if it’s a choice between Malik & Sarfraz as specialist captain, it has to be Malik. Also, Sarfraz is blocking Rizwan, who looked to be much better WK.

Absolutely agreed. Sums up the situation pretty well that the Sarfraz lovers can't comprehend.

 

[Plumb]

LOL Once again the recycle bin of PCB is shining.
Captain who was removed by PCB in 2008 and had a ban by pcb also, made captain once again... pakistan cricket will never change.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

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.

It's ODI cricket bro. Its pointless to expect one player can not score against a specific team. Did anyone expect Liton Das to smash 120 in the Asia Cup final against a very good Indian bowling attack? I mean he averaged 15 in ODIs before the final. Plus, pitches in this format are not usually that difficult on bat on these days, especially in England. Malik has the ability to play important match-winning innings which is all that should matter. And I'm confident he will play such innings in the WC. Hardly matters which team it comes against.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

LOL Once again the recycle bin of PCB is shining.
Captain who was removed by PCB in 2008 and had a ban by pcb also, made captain once again... pakistan cricket will never change.

Doesn't make sense to compare 2008 Malik to the seasoned campaigner he is now. He was a brash, young player then and is much more experienced and mature now. Plus the fact that he has a good cricketing brain makes him a good candidate for limited-overs captaincy.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

The problem with Malik being captain of this team is that he’s too likeable. Likeable captains, in Pakistani culture, creates complacency as well as toxic attachments among team members. Sarfraz on the other hand is a task master. You need a task master in the Pakistani team to keep every team member in check. Unfortunately, his lack of form undermines his authority and legitimacy of his position. I hope Sarfraz remains the captain in 2019 World Cup and hopefully he gets into form.

 

[topspin]

Even though Malik doesn't deserve to be in the team on merit, I rather have him captain because Sarfraz can't lead, can't bat, can't be civil and his keeping is worse than Rizwan's. I just hope common sense prevails following his suspension and he gets the axe finally because I just know Pakistan doen't have much hope of progressing past the group stage under his uncivilised approach and his atrocious display of leading by example in every aspect of his leadership and cricket.

I mean you can just see it from Sarfraz's eyes and body language as soon as he arrived in SA. The guy looked lost and scared, the only reason why he won't step down is because he knows deep down his place in the side would be swiftly under the microscope if he was to make this call.

If the criteria for a captain to lead the WC side has to be an over 30 senior then ideally Pakistan should appoint Hafeez. His cricketing brain and shrewd captaincy was evident in the only ODI win two years ago against Australia. During that series you could see a massive difference in the competency levels of Azhar Ali and Hafeez as captains and I know it's only one ODI but we're seeing the same gulf in class this time with Sarfraz and Malik.

I really hope Pakistan can get its act together in time for the WC. Axe Sarfraz from the team for good, replace with him Rizwan as WK and appoint the best candidate for captaincy out of Hafeez, Malik, Fakhar, Amir and Imad.

 

[Greenstorm]

It's ODI cricket bro. Its pointless to expect one player can not score against a specific team. Did anyone expect Liton Das to smash 120 in the Asia Cup final against a very good Indian bowling attack? I mean he averaged 15 in ODIs before the final. Plus, pitches in this format are not usually that difficult on bat on these days, especially in England. Malik has the ability to play important match-winning innings which is all that should matter. And I'm confident he will play such innings in the WC. Hardly matters which team it comes against.

Malik's innings in third ODI was atrocious, probably a match losing one. He does not deserve to be in the team solely as a batsman. That is why I said that we are stuck between two specialist captains who do not make the team on merit.

 

[Something]

People who think Malik is a better captain than Sarfraz are seriously delusional and suffer from some sort of memory loss

 

[Something]

Even though Malik doesn't deserve to be in the team on merit, I rather have him captain because Sarfraz can't lead, can't bat, can't be civil and his keeping is worse than Rizwan's. I just hope common sense prevails following his suspension and he gets the axe finally because I just know Pakistan doen't have much hope of progressing past the group stage under his uncivilised approach and his atrocious display of leading by example in every aspect of his leadership and cricket.

I mean you can just see it from Sarfraz's eyes and body language as soon as he arrived in SA. The guy looked lost and scared, the only reason why he won't step down is because he knows deep down his place in the side would be swiftly under the microscope if he was to make this call.

If the criteria for a captain to lead the WC side has to be an over 30 senior then ideally Pakistan should appoint Hafeez. His cricketing brain and shrewd captaincy was evident in the only ODI win two years ago against Australia. During that series you could see a massive difference in the competency levels of Azhar Ali and Hafeez as captains and I know it's only one ODI but we're seeing the same gulf in class this time with Sarfraz and Malik.

I really hope Pakistan can get its act together in time for the WC. Axe Sarfraz from the team for good, replace with him Rizwan as WK and appoint the best candidate for captaincy out of Hafeez, Malik, Fakhar, Amir and Imad.

LOL. Look at that list recommended by bhai saab. Each of those players is either struggling to justify their place in the playing XI or doesn't even deserve to be in there and you want one of them to be captain. Mashallah. Slow clap for you bro.

 

[IMMY69]

One major positive is the lack of screaming from behind the stumps.
I have to admit it was a real put off and unbecoming of an international player let alone the captain of the team....

With respect to Malik, it’s 2019 now and not only is he still playing but was captain in the last game!!!
Need I say more?

 

[IAJ]

Like I said pakistan will get knocked out in group stages dw.

Will try to remember your post Godwilling.

 

[aukhan]

LOL. Look at that list recommended by bhai saab. Each of those players is either struggling to justify their place in the playing XI or doesn't even deserve to be in there and you want one of them to be captain. Mashallah. Slow clap for you bro.

Sarfraz himself is struggling more than these guys. His behavior is the reason our team is low on morale and looks disinterested. Hafeez, Malik and Imad are an upgrade over the motor mouth sarfraz.

 

[topspin]

LOL. Look at that list recommended by bhai saab. Each of those players is either struggling to justify their place in the playing XI or doesn't even deserve to be in there and you want one of them to be captain. Mashallah. Slow clap for you bro.

People who think Malik is a better captain than Sarfraz are seriously delusional and suffer from some sort of memory loss

Malik's captaincy was a breath of fresh air actually, unlike Sarfraz he actually showed intent with taking wickets. He didn't panic when Amla and Du Plesis had that century stand, whereas "specialist captain" in this scenario would have lost his composure with his bowlers (as he usually does) and resorted to a defensive approach allowing SA to score 250+ because of his inability to think on his feet when he's under the pump. Under Malik on the other hand, the bowlers were inspired and led in exemplary fashion by the skipper, in contrast to the Karachi Street Cricketer.

Irony is you cite those 5 players as not fit to make the playing XI but your main man is comfortably the worst player in the side.

Give him the credit he's due and put your Sarfraz loyalist agenda aside.

 

[Titan24]

Malik's captaincy was a breath of fresh air actually, unlike Sarfraz he actually showed intent with taking wickets. He didn't panic when Amla and Du Plesis had that century stand, whereas "specialist captain" in this scenario would have lost his composure with his bowlers (as he usually does) and resorted to a defensive approach allowing SA to score 250+ because of his inability to think on his feet when he's under the pump. Under Malik on the other hand, the bowlers were inspired and led in exemplary fashion by the skipper, in contrast to the Karachi Street Cricketer.

Irony is you cite those 5 players as not fit to make the playing XI but your main man is comfortably the worst player in the side.

Give him the credit he's due and put your Sarfraz loyalist agenda aside.

Well written and people should listen with an open mind rather than personal likes and dislikes.

 

[Titan24]

Most importantly Malik finished the SA innings unlike Sarfraz against BD from 11/3 to 250 odd, NZ 40/3 while in deficit and then went on to score match winning lead or recently SA in 2nd ODI from 80/5 and multiple other occasions.

Sarfaraz doesnt read the game well.

He is 31 and if he still repeats the mistakes again and again there is very little room to improve.

 

[topspin]

Well written and people should listen with an open mind rather than personal likes and dislikes.

Thanks, as fans we need to be having constructive discussions and contributing ideas that are for the greater good for the team.

Unfortunately the toxic fan base will always have their mind fixated on their futile agendas rather than the fortunes of the team.

 

[Pakhs]

He is only a makeshift captain for 4 games hardly one of the biggest blunder by PCB. Stupid thread title.

 

[Something]

Malik's captaincy was a breath of fresh air actually, unlike Sarfraz he actually showed intent with taking wickets. He didn't panic when Amla and Du Plesis had that century stand, whereas "specialist captain" in this scenario would have lost his composure with his bowlers (as he usually does) and resorted to a defensive approach allowing SA to score 250+ because of his inability to think on his feet when he's under the pump. Under Malik on the other hand, the bowlers were inspired and led in exemplary fashion by the skipper, in contrast to the Karachi Street Cricketer.

Irony is you cite those 5 players as not fit to make the playing XI but your main man is comfortably the worst player in the side.

Give him the credit he's due and put your Sarfraz loyalist agenda aside.

I'm not loyal to Sarfraz at all. In fact, I agree he's been pretty shabby lately and should be dropped. However, Malik is a horrible captain. Read the report that was leaked after the loss to Sri Lanka back in 2009. Malik did a very good job as a stand in captain during the match. However, when Sarfraz was captain he completely turned the team around. In ODI's we had just suffered a whitewash from Bangladesh and in T20's he took over after an abysmal T20 World Cup. The results speak for themselves.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Malik's innings in third ODI was atrocious, probably a match losing one. He does not deserve to be in the team solely as a batsman. That is why I said that we are stuck between two specialist captains who do not make the team on merit.

Its seems you either you saw the match with your eyes closed or you just started watching cricket yesterday. 8/10 times 317 is a match-winning total, especially for a good bowling unit like Pakistan. Pakistan lost the match because of the rain. Once the ball got wet, spinners were taken out of the game completely and batting became very easy for South Africa.

Malik's numbers since re-introduction speak for themselves: 40+ average and a SR over 90. He has been one of the most consistent performers in limited-overs cricket for Pakistan over the last four years, calling for his axing is ludicrous.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I'm not loyal to Sarfraz at all. In fact, I agree he's been pretty shabby lately and should be dropped. However, Malik is a horrible captain. Read the report that was leaked after the loss to Sri Lanka back in 2009. Malik did a very good job as a stand in captain during the match. However, when Sarfraz was captain he completely turned the team around. In ODI's we had just suffered a whitewash from Bangladesh and in T20's he took over after an abysmal T20 World Cup. The results speak for themselves.

I would credit that more to Mickey & Rixon than Sarfraz. They were the ones responsible for the more permanent changes i.e fielding, fitness. Sarfraz has never been a particularly sharp captain and I'm pretty sure a half-decent captain could have delivered the same results, maybe better. Because Sarfraz's batting form has steadily gone down-hill ever since he took the reins.

 

[Plumb]

Doesn't make sense to compare 2008 Malik to the seasoned campaigner he is now. He was a brash, young player then and is much more experienced and mature now. Plus the fact that he has a good cricketing brain makes him a good candidate for limited-overs captaincy.

hahaha He will do anything to be in the team.... wait and watch it 'll all come out in a few years. Malik and Hafeez are the two guys with most political connections and influences. Amazing that the guy keep crying he doesn't want captaincy and don't even have a place in playing 11 and made captain.

 

[Greenstorm]

Its seems you either you saw the match with your eyes closed or you just started watching cricket yesterday. 8/10 times 317 is a match-winning total, especially for a good bowling unit like Pakistan. Pakistan lost the match because of the rain. Once the ball got wet, spinners were taken out of the game completely and batting became very easy for South Africa.

Malik's numbers since re-introduction speak for themselves: 40+ average and a SR over 90. He has been one of the most consistent performers in limited-overs cricket for Pakistan over the last four years, calling for his axing is ludicrous.

No, I have been watching cricket for a long time so keep those comments to yourself and remain on topic.

I agree that we lost mainly due to rain. But many people including commentators at the ground believed that we were at-least 15-20 runs short and that proved to be the difference in the end. Malik batted in last 10 overs and made 31 of 27, that is just not good enough on a flat pitch with wickets in hand.

What are Malik's numbers against SENA countries ? He has been a poor performer in England, the venue for the next world cup. His issues against pace, specially short pitch bowling are well documented and it is ridiculous to say that he deserves to play as a batsman alone.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

This one image is enough for me to keep Malik as captain.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This triggered Rassie to play rash shots and put Amla under pressure to take off and increase the run rate.

This is how you pounce on the opportunity and go for the kill when you are on top or trying to sneak a collapse.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

No, I have been watching cricket for a long time so keep those comments to yourself and remain on topic.

I agree that we lost mainly due to rain. But many people including commentators at the ground believed that we were at-least 15-20 runs short and that proved to be the difference in the end. Malik batted in last 10 overs and made 31 of 27, that is just not good enough on a flat pitch with wickets in hand.

What are Malik's numbers against SENA countries ? He has been a poor performer in England, the venue for the next world cup. His issues against pace, specially short pitch bowling are well documented and it is ridiculous to say that he deserves to play as a batsman alone.

Now you're just nit-picking. Pakistan wanted 300 on the board at the start of the match and Mike Haysman (a commentator, in case you didn't know) said they needed 320, which would be a match-winning total in that pitch. Apart from that a target over 317 (319) had been chased just once at Centurion so safe to say there was nothing wrong with the total. If anything Pakistan got more than they expected (300) and more than the par score at Centurion (275)

 

[Ali Bohra]

Pak Reporters asking Sarfaraz on Airport to react on Shoaib Akhtar criticizing him on racist comment.

Sarfaraz - He (Shoaib Akhtar) is not criticizing, he is personal attacking.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

No, I have been watching cricket for a long time so keep those comments to yourself and remain on topic.

I agree that we lost mainly due to rain. But many people including commentators at the ground believed that we were at-least 15-20 runs short and that proved to be the difference in the end. Malik batted in last 10 overs and made 31 of 27, that is just not good enough on a flat pitch with wickets in hand.

What are Malik's numbers against SENA countries ? He has been a poor performer in England, the venue for the next world cup. His issues against pace, specially short pitch bowling are well documented and it is ridiculous to say that he deserves to play as a batsman alone.

That's irrelevant in ODIs. In tests the argument of his previous record would make sense because in tests pitches and conditions play a big role but not in ODIs. In ODIs its all about playing the situation and so experience is a much more important thing

 

[Greenstorm]

Now you're just nit-picking. Pakistan wanted 300 on the board at the start of the match and Mike Haysman (a commentator, in case you didn't know) said they needed 320, which would be a match-winning total in that pitch. Apart from that a target over 317 (319) had been chased just once at Centurion so safe to say there was nothing wrong with the total. If anything Pakistan got more than they expected (300) and more than the par score at Centurion (275)

Mike Haysman also asked Imam after the innings that don't you think that Pakistan is 15-20 runs short.

There is no justification of 31 from 27 in last 10 overs. It was a poor innings and honestly, he is expected to fail against any decent pacer, although this time, he could not even hit big against Shamsi.

 

[Greenstorm]

That's irrelevant in ODIs. In tests the argument of his previous record would make sense because in tests pitches and conditions play a big role but not in ODIs. In ODIs its all about playing the situation and so experience is a much more important thing

Well, you brought his numbers into discussion and now they have become irrelevant.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Well, you brought his numbers into discussion and now they have become irrelevant.

The numbers I mentioned are of the last four years which accurately show that he has been a consistent performer recently. The numbers you mentioned also include his performances during the formative years of his career when he was finding his feet in international cricket and the late 2000's when his career went down-hill. The difference is that the numbers I mentioned are relevant to the argument.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Mike Haysman also asked Imam after the innings that don't you think that Pakistan is 15-20 runs short.

There is no justification of 31 from 27 in last 10 overs. It was a poor innings and honestly, he is expected to fail against any decent pacer, although this time, he could not even hit big against Shamsi.

Your argument is paper-thin I'm honestly having trouble comprehending what you are even trying to say. So what if he asked Imam? The point is that 317 was always a match-winning total and the pressure was firmly on South Africa who were wilting before the rain arrived.

In no way shape or form is 31 off 27 a poor innings. Malik may have struggled to hit out but he still struck at 114 which is more than decent for the death overs and made up for it by rotating the strike and giving it to Imad Wasim who was hitting more cleanly.