PakPassion posters and the Pakistan captain conundrum

[the Great Khan]

I've been on this forum for over a decade now..perhaps longer..Ive been watching pakistan cricket for 30 plus years. (yes to some on here its Uncle TGK) but one thing never changes. Hate for the Pakistan captain when we lose.

When Imran used to lose (yes that did happen) I rememebr the media going on about how he was arrogant and not a people person like Miandad. When Miandad used to get it and lose, well he was too combative and favoured karachities. Inzi was fat lazy and a mullah, Malik was a weak yes man, Wasim was a fixer, waqar clueless, Moin a wimp, Moyo a lost puppy, Salman butt err...

Shahid Khan afridi was too volatile and a street cricketer who was a fool to boot, and finally Misbah. Misbah the weak clueless, tuk tuk, slow strike rate, cant rotate, clueless abroad and a fluke captain.

Now we have Sarfaraz. Everything said above by a previous generation is being repeated by a new generation of ppers.

We never change. When sarfi goes and Im in my late fifties (and still on here lol) we will hear how useless the new cuptaan is and so so on and on..

My point is get over it. Change the conversation.Not everything is captains fault. THere are deeper issues around Pakistan cricket that effect performance and also the fact its a game. You will lose. Sometimes alot. Lets just give these guys a chance and support the team. Criticise by all means but just "having a go" for the sake of it is not good criticism...

 

[fitCricFan]

Nothing unusal about this. The captain always takes the fall or credit and that's his job. All the captain can do is attempt to do the right things at teh right time and hope the other 10 follow or are motivated enough to follow.

I was watching the Postmatch conference after India's 5th test loss to England and saw that Virat Kohli was on the edge and was being asked some tough questions by the reporters. Talking to some of my Indian friends/colleagues, they all felt that despite his own performance, it was his captaincy that led
India down as this was India's series to take with at-least a 3-2 test record.

So captaincy comes with its own added set of issues, accountability and rewards

 

[alized]

Mohammad Hafeez better captain than Sarfraz.

 

[topspin]

I've been on this forum for over a decade now..perhaps longer..Ive been watching pakistan cricket for 30 plus years. (yes to some on here its Uncle TGK) but one thing never changes. Hate for the Pakistan captain when we lose.

When Imran used to lose (yes that did happen) I rememebr the media going on about how he was arrogant and not a people person like Miandad. When Miandad used to get it and lose, well he was too combative and favoured karachities. Inzi was fat lazy and a mullah, Malik was a weak yes man, Wasim was a fixer, waqar clueless, Moin a wimp, Moyo a lost puppy, Salman butt err...

Shahid Khan afridi was too volatile and a street cricketer who was a fool to boot, and finally Misbah. Misbah the weak clueless, tuk tuk, slow strike rate, cant rotate, clueless abroad and a fluke captain.

Now we have Sarfaraz. Everything said above by a previous generation is being repeated by a new generation of ppers.

We never change. When sarfi goes and Im in my late fifties (and still on here lol) we will hear how useless the new cuptaan is and so so on and on..

My point is get over it. Change the conversation.Not everything is captains fault. THere are deeper issues around Pakistan cricket that effect performance and also the fact its a game. You will lose. Sometimes alot. Lets just give these guys a chance and support the team. Criticise by all means but just "having a go" for the sake of it is not good criticism...

I agree some criticism is OTT however the captain role is the equivalent of the one of a football manager which is why we're seeing Jose Mourinho getting all the stick at Man U.

Even though I still think he's the best man to lead the India team Kohli has also deserved criticism for some of his tactics and selections.

Sarfraz himself admitted that his captaincy wasn't good enough. All the criticism is warranted.

 

[Major]

good post and spot on

OP is right. We always complain about captains etc. We have never been happy with who has been the captain.

Im not a supporter of Sarfraz Ahmed, but i believe he should stay as captain.

When we win, we will also lose some, even by a great margin.

 

[happydavy]

Brilliant thread by OP. Infact I would go one step further and say Pakistani coaches also get influenced by media and pakpassion to a very large extent and several of their decisions are based upon what media and PPers say. How otherwise do you expect Mickey Arthur to pass comments like "wahab hasn't won us a game in 2 years" or "Hafeez is not in our future plans". Why would you ridicule players in public eyes?

Sane thing to say is that doors are always open for players to come back and we expect tthem to perform well at domestic level. Doesn't matter if they are not in your plans, my point is why say that in public and demotivate a player.

Mickey will have to eat his own words. Already 3 months after scathing remarks on wahab, he's back in the team and its only a matter of one more bad tournament before Hafeez will be in playing XI.

 

[Mamoon]

When a team loses, the captain feels the heat. It is part of his job.

An irrelevant rant.

 

[Fineline]

Its not just about his captaincy.He has been awful with the bat since CT.So even after this,he should not be held accountable?

 

[Usman Chadda]

When a team loses, the captain feels the heat. It is part of his job.

An irrelevant rant.

We have no one else capable of captaining this side. Sort of stuck with Sarfraz right now. Going to Hafeez and Malik will be backward step and will achieve nothing.

 

[Plumb]

Mohammad Hafeez better captain than Sarfraz.

those who are on bench are always the world beaters.... first go and check the records

 

[Mamoon]

We have no one else capable of captaining this side. Sort of stuck with Sarfraz right now. Going to Hafeez and Malik will be backward step and will achieve nothing.

Which is fine, but that does not mean that he should not be criticized. He has been badly exposed as a minnow-basher and needs to take at least some blame for the 8 consecutive defeats against top 8 teams.

A captain who does well individually but his team loses games also faces criticism. Kohli is the best batsman in the world but Indian fans haven't spared him for the losses in England and South Africa, but Pakistani snowflakes want to protect Sarfraz from criticism when not only is Pakistan losing games, his individual performances have been utter rubbish.

In fact, he deserves a lot more criticism than what he is facing right now.

 

[Savak]

Explain what Sarfaraz avg is with the bat since the last year? You can't have a non-performing captain

 

[Savak]

Which is fine, but that does not mean that he should not be criticized. He has been badly exposed as a minnow-basher and needs to take at least some blame for the 8 consecutive defeats against top 8 teams.

A captain who does well individually but his team loses games also faces criticism. Kohli is the best batsman in the world but Indian fans haven't spared him for the losses in England and South Africa, but Pakistani snowflakes want to protect Sarfraz from criticism when not only is Pakistan losing games, his individual performances have been utter rubbish.

In fact, he deserves a lot more criticism than what he is facing right now.

Are you a fan of tough but brave decisions?

How long do we persist with a non performing Sarfaraz who is neither leading the team well and not performing well himself.

England axed Cook from the ODI team and appointed Morgan as ODI captain straight away just before the WC. I think it is best to put Sarfaraz out of his misery because at present I do not see how his team mates have any respect for him.

The only two credible options atm appear to be Hafeez and Malik but lol what will Mickey say having to deal with Hafeez as captain now.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Which is fine, but that does not mean that he should not be criticized. He has been badly exposed as a minnow-basher and needs to take at least some blame for the 8 consecutive defeats against top 8 teams.

A captain who does well individually but his team loses games also faces criticism. Kohli is the best batsman in the world but Indian fans haven't spared him for the losses in England and South Africa, but Pakistani snowflakes want to protect Sarfraz from criticism when not only is Pakistan losing games, his individual performances have been utter rubbish.

In fact, he deserves a lot more criticism than what he is facing right now.

Sarfraz deserves more criticism than he is getting right now. A good start is how he is facing this criticism head on, which hopefully leads to some harsh self-evaluation. I've seen this guy since his debut, and the depths he has fallen to since CT is sad to see. From the saviour who rids us of Kamran Akmal to enemy number one right now. Sport is a great leveller

 

[Bilal7]

When a team loses, the captain feels the heat. It is part of his job.

An irrelevant rant.

Good job missing the point. Again. The captain needs to be criticized but he is not the only one at fault.

 

[Mamoon]

Are you a fan of tough but brave decisions?

How long do we persist with a non performing Sarfaraz who is neither leading the team well and not performing well himself.

England axed Cook from the ODI team and appointed Morgan as ODI captain straight away just before the WC. I think it is best to put Sarfaraz out of his misery because at present I do not see how his team mates have any respect for him.

The only two credible options atm appear to be Hafeez and Malik but lol what will Mickey say having to deal with Hafeez as captain now.

Sarfraz has to go. I don't see the point of persisting with him - if he had it in him, he would have performed by now, but he has been a mediocre player before and after his purple patch. This is his true caliber, and not the one he showed back in 2014-2015.

Who will succeed him is of course a big question, but he cannot get a free ride forever just because there are no alternatives. I don't mind mind the captaincy being passed around like hot potato until we find the right candidate, but I dread this third rate minnow basher leading the team for another few years.

 

[Mamoon]

Good job missing the point. Again. The captain needs to be criticized but he is not the only one at fault.

There is no point to this thread and neither to your post. Sarfraz is not the only one who is at fault which is why the whole team is being criticized right now. Not a single playing member of the Asia Cup squad (except Malik) has escaped criticism, so where did you pull out "he is not the only one at fault" from?

However, captaincy comes with its privileges and disadvantages - if you are winning games because players in your team are performing well, you will get credit. Similarly, if the same players let you down, you will face the music.

Sarfraz won the Champions Trophy because a lot of things went in his team's favor and a few players hit purple patches. When his team was bashing minnows and weak left right in 2017-18, his own performance was poor, but he was getting credit for the success of his teammates. Those are the privileges that come with captaincy.

The major disadvantage is that regardless of how well you are playing, if your teammates do not turn up and you lose, you will have to cop the blame for their failures. In this instance, Sarfraz is the biggest culprit in the team because he has turned up less than his teammates over a long time now.

 

[KingKhanWC]

The captain in cricket is like the manager in football. He selects the XI, decides the tactics on the field and is responsible for motivating the team alongside game management. If the team does badly he is to blame. If you cant handle this , dont be captain.

Sarfraz could improve his captaincy with help but his form with the bat is so bad it effects his captaincy. Instead of realising this he is being arrogant by promoting himself up the order and failing.

Malik was made captain far too early, he is ideal now but not sure he wants the job.

 

[mystical man]

Which is fine, but that does not mean that he should not be criticized. He has been badly exposed as a minnow-basher and needs to take at least some blame for the 8 consecutive defeats against top 8 teams.

A captain who does well individually but his team loses games also faces criticism. Kohli is the best batsman in the world but Indian fans haven't spared him for the losses in England and South Africa, but Pakistani snowflakes want to protect Sarfraz from criticism when not only is Pakistan losing games, his individual performances have been utter rubbish.

In fact, he deserves a lot more criticism than what he is facing right now.

Loosing by such a large margin is a feat only Sarfaraz has achieved which no other captain had to in the past so it is justifiable....

 

[RickyG]

Which is fine, but that does not mean that he should not be criticized. He has been badly exposed as a minnow-basher and needs to take at least some blame for the 8 consecutive defeats against top 8 teams.

A captain who does well individually but his team loses games also faces criticism. Kohli is the best batsman in the world but Indian fans haven't spared him for the losses in England and South Africa, but Pakistani snowflakes want to protect Sarfraz from criticism when not only is Pakistan losing games, his individual performances have been utter rubbish.

In fact, he deserves a lot more criticism than what he is facing right now.

What's a Pakistani snowflake?

Also which of your recent captains wasn't a minnow basher? Misbah, Azhar, Afridi? It's indicative of where the team is at.

Also by your logic, if the team wins something then some of the credit should be afforded to the captain right?

However, whenever the champions trophy (which is a subject discussed to death but since you brought it up in another post) is discussed you argue that Pakistan won in spite of Sarfraz and they beat South Africa, England, and India in consecutive games purely with luck.

It defeats your whole argument entirely. I'm all for criticizing Sarfraz because he deserves it but I don't advocate your constant use of confirmation bias followed by knee-jerk reactions.

 

[Mamoon]

What's a Pakistani snowflake?

Also which of your recent captains wasn't a minnow basher? Misbah, Azhar, Afridi? It's indicative of where the team is at.

Also by your logic, if the team wins something then some of the credit should be afforded to the captain right?

However, whenever the champions trophy (which is a subject discussed to death but since you brought it up in another post) is discussed you argue that Pakistan won in spite of Sarfraz and they beat South Africa, England, and India in consecutive games purely with luck.

It defeats your whole argument entirely. I'm all for criticizing Sarfraz because he deserves it but I don't advocate your constant use of confirmation bias followed by knee-jerk reactions.

Snowflakes are those Sarfraz fans who attempt to deflect all criticism directed at him by referring to Misbah and Azhar etc. You are right that they along with Afridi won against minnows only, but at least they were performing. Misbah was Pakistan's best batsman during his captaincy, Azhar scored heavily against weak teams while Afridi also performed decently during his ODI captaincy.

Sarfraz has been non-existent even against minnows, save for a half-century against Scotland in a T20. Secondly, this is not about me or what I think - I was making a general point of how people put captains on a pedestal when the team is winning even if their contribution is insignificant. I was personally unsold over his captaincy because he was made to look good because of minnow bashing post Champions Trophy.

We had a reality check in New Zealand and this Asia Cup reality check was also long time coming. An argument is defeated when there is an argument in the first place - I am talking facts here, and the fact is that Sarfraz has failed as a captain because there is no other way of describing 8 successive defeats to top 8 sides, and it is also a fact that his individual performance is terrible.

If he was leading from the front with his individual performance, he would get some leeway, but what is he in the team for?

His batting is non-existent, his keeping is nothing special and his captaincy is not good enough against the top flight teams. What is he in the team for? Why is he the captain of all three formats?

What will Pakistan lose with an equally bad captain but a good player? You might say that he won the Champions Trophy last year, but when does he stop milking that tournament? If Pakistan continues to flounder against the top teams and if he continues to fail as a player, when do we say that enough is enough?

 

[Abdullah]

I don't want any major changes to the team. Hafeez and Imad may get back in and rumman. That's it really.
We need to back these guys for the next 12 months. Then we can start again

 

[Hasan123]

On what basis do we keep him as captain ? Doesn't perform with bat and he isn't some tactical genius. Doesn't lead by example in terms of fitness.

I would rather give someone else a go then stick with Sarfraz.

 

[RickyG]

Snowflakes are those Sarfraz fans who attempt to deflect all criticism directed at him by referring to Misbah and Azhar etc. You are right that they along with Afridi won against minnows only, but at least they were performing. Misbah was Pakistan's best batsman during his captaincy, Azhar scored heavily against weak teams while Afridi also performed decently during his ODI captaincy.

Sarfraz has been non-existent even against minnows, save for a half-century against Scotland in a T20. Secondly, this is not about me or what I think - I was making a general point of how people put captains on a pedestal when the team is winning even if their contribution is insignificant. I was personally unsold over his captaincy because he was made to look good because of minnow bashing post Champions Trophy.

We had a reality check in New Zealand and this Asia Cup reality check was also long time coming. An argument is defeated when there is an argument in the first place - I am talking facts here, and the fact is that Sarfraz has failed as a captain because there is no other way of describing 8 successive defeats to top 8 sides, and it is also a fact that his individual performance is terrible.

If he was leading from the front with his individual performance, he would get some leeway, but what is he in the team for?

His batting is non-existent, his keeping is nothing special and his captaincy is not good enough against the top flight teams. What is he in the team for? Why is he the captain of all three formats?

What will Pakistan lose with an equally bad captain but a good player? You might say that he won the Champions Trophy last year, but when does he stop milking that tournament? If Pakistan continues to flounder against the top teams and if he continues to fail as a player, when do we say that enough is enough?

I personally think Hafeez was Pakistan's best batsman under Misbah's captaincy. I am not going to comment on Misbah's batting because he played to save face not to win.

When I said he didn't bother to bat, it's mainly because Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe were so bad that he did not have to bat. Sure he could've come in at number 3 but then the same people would say he is boosting his stats against minnows or destroying Babar's career. I would've backed him but there's no winning there.

I agree about the reality check but the reality check was losing 5-0 to New Zealand. Losing a one-off match against Bangladesh isn't a reality check. Losing two games to India isn't either. We're nowhere near the caliber of India or England at the moment in any facet of the game.

I think failure is subjective. Was Imran Khan the only captain that has ever succeeded as a captain in that case? Has Mickey Arthur failed as a coach? 8 matches is still a fairly small sample all things considered.

His form is definitely a concern and more so because we don't have any other wicket-keeper batsmen in domestic cricket.

I don't really have any complaints about his captaincy in limited overs cricket.

What good player are we talking about? In all seriousness if there were wicket keeper batsmen better than Sarfraz then they would be in the team as batsmen alone.

I don't think he should be captain in test cricket. They've over-burdened him with that and the pressure is telling. He doesn't look like someone that is enjoying his cricket. Test cricket was one format where he really enjoyed playing his own way and for obvious reasons he can't do that anymore. And more than anything, I am actually more concerned about him being captain in test cricket.

I say let him captain until the end of the world cup. If he fails then it's curtains for him anyway. You're not going to make any major transformations before the world cup and you might as well let him and Mickey give it their best shot at the world cup.

 

[nam]

I hope he comes back stronger with this episode. All greats of game had rough patches and Sarfraz is not even great by any standard. He has proven he is quite capable of winning big games by winning us U19 world cup and Champions trophy. So definitely he has been given a longer rope by management. Experience tells us that some things are temporary and will go away just have to show patience. Lack of alternate leader is another reason why he has been persisted with.

Having said all that I completely understand fans frustrations as they are all hurt because they care so much about the team and some criticism is justified and Sarfraz must take it and become stronger with it and sort out the issues.

 

[the Great Khan]

There is no point to this thread and neither to your post. Sarfraz is not the only one who is at fault which is why the whole team is being criticized right now. Not a single playing member of the Asia Cup squad (except Malik) has escaped criticism, so where did you pull out "he is not the only one at fault" from?

However, captaincy comes with its privileges and disadvantages - if you are winning games because players in your team are performing well, you will get credit. Similarly, if the same players let you down, you will face the music.

Sarfraz won the Champions Trophy because a lot of things went in his team's favor and a few players hit purple patches. When his team was bashing minnows and weak left right in 2017-18, his own performance was poor, but he was getting credit for the success of his teammates. Those are the privileges that come with captaincy.

The major disadvantage is that regardless of how well you are playing, if your teammates do not turn up and you lose, you will have to cop the blame for their failures. In this instance, Sarfraz is the biggest culprit in the team because he has turned up less than his teammates over a long time now.

Evidently from your repeated "yaarian" on this thread , there does seem to be some relevance to it. Otherwise you'd be moaning on another thread.

The fact is replacing the captain will not change anything. This team needs direction and chopping and changing doesnt solve anything. You let processes embed before you assess further change. The same is with the captain. The coach and captain have a good relationship. There are good processes in place but ultimatley the players are the ones who have to perform. Sarfraz is a good captain no matter what anyone says. He is the best we have at the moment and will continue to learn. Yes he is out of form as happens to many captains but he cant make Babar hit runs rather than turning into jelly at the first sign of pressure. he also cant stop Amir from bowling pies when the wicket is not helping.

You have to look at the whole setup and with the problems we have this is the best we can do for now and it isnt too bad..

Its easy to suggest change without actually planning for it, mitigating risk and then providing alternative solutions.

 

[Bilal7]

There is no point to this thread and neither to your post. Sarfraz is not the only one who is at fault which is why the whole team is being criticized right now. Not a single playing member of the Asia Cup squad (except Malik) has escaped criticism, so where did you pull out "he is not the only one at fault" from?

However, captaincy comes with its privileges and disadvantages - if you are winning games because players in your team are performing well, you will get credit. Similarly, if the same players let you down, you will face the music.

Sarfraz won the Champions Trophy because a lot of things went in his team's favor and a few players hit purple patches. When his team was bashing minnows and weak left right in 2017-18, his own performance was poor, but he was getting credit for the success of his teammates. Those are the privileges that come with captaincy.

The major disadvantage is that regardless of how well you are playing, if your teammates do not turn up and you lose, you will have to cop the blame for their failures. In this instance, Sarfraz is the biggest culprit in the team because he has turned up less than his teammates over a long time now.

Why has Malik escaped criticism? He's just as culpable as Babar who is just as culpable as Fakhar and Hasan. The team as a whole underperformed with just a couple of bright spots (Imam, Junaid and Shaheen). The narrative seems to be that removing Sarfaraz will suddenly solve all problems when that is not the case, partly because the problems themselves are overly exaggerated.

The captain should be criticized when the tactics are wrong or the team selection is botched. Although, he did not do a spectacular job with the latter, Sarfaraz's tactis have not been poor at all. You cannot fault him when the batsmen are unable to chase down 240 and the bowlers bowl rubbish when defending the same. He does not control the performances of his team-mates.

You mentioned Kohli but he gets criticized not because his team fails but because he makes horrible team selections and his tactics are plain weird. He actively contributes to the poor performance of his team, Sarfaraz has not done that.

 

[Fineline]

Snowflakes are those Sarfraz fans who attempt to deflect all criticism directed at him by referring to Misbah and Azhar etc. You are right that they along with Afridi won against minnows only, but at least they were performing. Misbah was Pakistan's best batsman during his captaincy, Azhar scored heavily against weak teams while Afridi also performed decently during his ODI captaincy.

Sarfraz has been non-existent even against minnows, save for a half-century against Scotland in a T20. Secondly, this is not about me or what I think - I was making a general point of how people put captains on a pedestal when the team is winning even if their contribution is insignificant. I was personally unsold over his captaincy because he was made to look good because of minnow bashing post Champions Trophy.

We had a reality check in New Zealand and this Asia Cup reality check was also long time coming. An argument is defeated when there is an argument in the first place - I am talking facts here, and the fact is that Sarfraz has failed as a captain because there is no other way of describing 8 successive defeats to top 8 sides, and it is also a fact that his individual performance is terrible.

If he was leading from the front with his individual performance, he would get some leeway, but what is he in the team for?

His batting is non-existent, his keeping is nothing special and his captaincy is not good enough against the top flight teams. What is he in the team for? Why is he the captain of all three formats?

What will Pakistan lose with an equally bad captain but a good player? You might say that he won the Champions Trophy last year, but when does he stop milking that tournament? If Pakistan continues to flounder against the top teams and if he continues to fail as a player, when do we say that enough is enough?

You have hit the nail on the head!

 

[Hawkeye]

There are captains who lead from the front and have a great set of players to win against top opposition.

There are captains who lead from the front and are decent at results.

There are captains who aren't being able to lead from the front but still keep the team, selection organized and win matches.

Then there are captains who are unable to lead from the front, no performances, consistently on a losing streak against half decent opposition.

Criticism is valid when your captain belongs to the worst category.

At the end of the day, any captain would get criticized. Even Ponting was not spared.

 

[barah_admi]

I've been on this forum for over a decade now..perhaps longer..Ive been watching pakistan cricket for 30 plus years. (yes to some on here its Uncle TGK) but one thing never changes. Hate for the Pakistan captain when we lose.

When Imran used to lose (yes that did happen) I rememebr the media going on about how he was arrogant and not a people person like Miandad. When Miandad used to get it and lose, well he was too combative and favoured karachities. Inzi was fat lazy and a mullah, Malik was a weak yes man, Wasim was a fixer, waqar clueless, Moin a wimp, Moyo a lost puppy, Salman butt err...

Shahid Khan afridi was too volatile and a street cricketer who was a fool to boot, and finally Misbah. Misbah the weak clueless, tuk tuk, slow strike rate, cant rotate, clueless abroad and a fluke captain.

Now we have Sarfaraz. Everything said above by a previous generation is being repeated by a new generation of ppers.

We never change. When sarfi goes and Im in my late fifties (and still on here lol) we will hear how useless the new cuptaan is and so so on and on..

My point is get over it. Change the conversation.Not everything is captains fault. THere are deeper issues around Pakistan cricket that effect performance and also the fact its a game. You will lose. Sometimes alot. Lets just give these guys a chance and support the team. Criticise by all means but just "having a go" for the sake of it is not good criticism...

Captains get criticised on a global scale, across all team sports. The issue is whether or not that criticism is justified.

I for one have criticised Sarfarz regardless of wins/losses, mainly due to his on field behaviour which is deeply unprofessional and may one day (could it have started already) cause friction between players. That is not captaincy material. On top of that, his tactics are almost non existent, he follows the ball far too much and ultimately it shows in the results.

The situation gets worse when we factor in he is not currently good enough to hold a place in the side, let alone be captain.

 

[Mamoon]

Why has Malik escaped criticism? He's just as culpable as Babar who is just as culpable as Fakhar and Hasan. The team as a whole underperformed with just a couple of bright spots (Imam, Junaid and Shaheen). The narrative seems to be that removing Sarfaraz will suddenly solve all problems when that is not the case, partly because the problems themselves are overly exaggerated.

The captain should be criticized when the tactics are wrong or the team selection is botched. Although, he did not do a spectacular job with the latter, Sarfaraz's tactis have not been poor at all. You cannot fault him when the batsmen are unable to chase down 240 and the bowlers bowl rubbish when defending the same. He does not control the performances of his team-mates.

You mentioned Kohli but he gets criticized not because his team fails but because he makes horrible team selections and his tactics are plain weird. He actively contributes to the poor performance of his team, Sarfaraz has not done that.

Malik has escaped criticism because he along with Imam were the only two players who performed in the Asia Cup.

You have misunderstood the narrative - no one his or her right mind thinks that removing Sarfraz will make this team a world beater. We understand the fact that this a mediocre team that will lose more often than not to top flight teams.

That will not change if we make Babar, Malik or Fakhar captain. However, a captain has to first justify his place in the team and carry his own weight before he is thrusted with captaincy, and that is something that Sarfraz has not been able to do for a long time now.

In ODIs, under Misbah, Pakistan lost heavily against the top teams more often than not, but he was able to keep the job because his individual performances were excellent and was always bailing the team out in crisis.

Imagine if his individual performance was at the same level as that of for example Younis (ODIs) or Farhat. How would that have worked out? That is what Sarfraz is doing in this team.

Yes you can definitely fault him for the batsmen failing to chase down 240 because he is one of the chief culprits. He is also one of the batsmen and he is not performing at all.

In the match against Bangladesh, he played a pathetic shot when Pakistan were two down; against India in the second game, he was tied into a knot by their spinners and gave catching practice as soon as we were building a partnership.

Against Afghanistan, he got clean bowled after yet another poor innings when Pakistan needed him to stay with Malik and finish the game.

In the first game against India, he failed yet again.

In our 8 consecutive defeats against top 8 teams, he has been one of our weakest performers - how can you not criticize him?

You are making him sound as if he has been performing brilliantly but his teammates have let him down.

Kohli actively contributes to the poor performance of his team but Sarfraz doesn’t?

So the best batsman in the world who scores hundreds after hundreds, is contribution more to the poor performance of his team than Sarfraz, who is one of the worst performers in the team and arguably the worst wicket-keeper batsman in the world on current form?

No captain in the world contributes more to the poor performance of his team than Sarfraz, because no captain in the world is performing worse for his team than Sarfraz is for Pakistan.

A captain is first and foremost a player, and like every other player in the team, he has to perform. Sarfraz is not doing that and has not done that for a long time now.

If he was some tactical genius who could help Pakistan beat the top teams consistently, perhaps we could make an exception for him, but he is clearly not capable of doing that as evident by our 7 straight losses to New Zealand and India collectively.

So he is performing very poorly and his captaincy is not great enough to help us beat quality teams, so what is he in the team for and why is he the captain?

What does Pakistan lose by making a player the captain who is, at the very least, performing and pulling his own weight?

It is clear that the results will not change, but at least we will have someone in Sarfraz’s place who will score some runs.

I understand that our wicket-keeping options are not great. However, for how long will we play with 10 men just because Sarfraz is the only deaf king among blind men?

I don’t care who we bring in - it is not impossible for a player to perform worse than Sarfraz at this point.

 

[Mamoon]

Evidently from your repeated "yaarian" on this thread , there does seem to be some relevance to it. Otherwise you'd be moaning on another thread.

The fact is replacing the captain will not change anything. This team needs direction and chopping and changing doesnt solve anything. You let processes embed before you assess further change. The same is with the captain. The coach and captain have a good relationship. There are good processes in place but ultimatley the players are the ones who have to perform. Sarfraz is a good captain no matter what anyone says. He is the best we have at the moment and will continue to learn. Yes he is out of form as happens to many captains but he cant make Babar hit runs rather than turning into jelly at the first sign of pressure. he also cant stop Amir from bowling pies when the wicket is not helping.

You have to look at the whole setup and with the problems we have this is the best we can do for now and it isnt too bad..

Its easy to suggest change without actually planning for it, mitigating risk and then providing alternative solutions.

Oh bhai, instead of tooting your horn over your 30+ years of experience and doing aye baye shayen, please try to understand the point.

No one is suggesting that we will start beating top teams if we make XYZ captain. Clearly, there are bigger issues with this team than Sarfraz’s captaincy, which has not been impressive to begin with.

However, the fundamental issue is that Sarfraz is not pulling his own weight and is not performing as a player at all. A captain has to first and foremost perform as an individual player, and he is not doing that at all.

This is not about bad form, this is about his incapability. Bad form does not last for two years, and Sarfraz’s whole career has been a rough patch barring a purple patch in 2014-2015.

He is simply not a very good players, that is it. You are right that he cannot make XYZ perform, but is in control of his own performance - Babar might have the spine of a jelly or a custard, but he is still performing far better than captain fantastic.

No player is letting the team down more than Sarfraz.

You are right that changing captaincy will not change anything and we have bigger issues, but one of these bigger issues is Sarfraz’s awful individual performance.

He should not be in the team because we cannot carry him any longer. He doesn’t deserve any special protection because he is the captain, especially after leading us to 7 straight losses to New Zealand and India with his excellent tactics.

Once he is out of the team, we can worry about the captaincy, but at least it won’t be given to arguably the worst player in the squad.

 

[MMHS]

As I wrote in other thread -

Among 12 teams, Sarfraz is the worst WK-Batsman, may be tied with WI’s WK....

And, the worst Captain, again may be tied with Angelo. However, SRL has sacked a player like Angelo as Captain & dropped him from ODI team on fitness.

That makes him 12 by 12.....

I think, more than his cricket or tactics, Sarfraz represents a particular City of PAK, that has by far the largest population among PAK cities & highest number of PP members here - and for them, their regional bias comes ahead of national interest. Otherwise, with my little experience I have never seen such a mediocre Captain & below average player being blindly supported by so many “fans”.

There is regional/communal bias in every country - IND, SRL (Tamil v Sinhalese), AUS (Vics v NSW), WIN (Black/Indian or Barbados/Jamaica/T&T/Guyana) ..... even in England there is Lancashire/Yorkshire/Surrey/Warwickshire...... but, I have never seen as such like Sarfraz, which is a shame to be honest.

PCB has their own trouble, therefore might not be able to replace/sack this guy - but it’s really surprising to see that people spending 1-2 hours everyday on cricket here are spending their time to find reasons/excuses to back this 12 by 12 guy.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Didn't know op was such an old guy guy. Sorry if i was disrespectful in any of my post before. @OP

 

[Usman Chadda]

People who want Sarfraz sacked are only jubiliant in their criticism, without providing any solutions. Malik is not an option, that ship sailed a long time ago. Specially given his track record of oath-taking and what-not. Sorry, but thanks I would much rather have this mediocre cricketer than a scheming individual with an axe to grind.

Also, Malik was as good as a tail-ender in New Zealand. Sarfraz performed better than this new champion of Pakistan cricket on that tour.

 

[RyanRyan10]

As I wrote in other thread -

Among 12 teams, Sarfraz is the worst WK-Batsman, may be tied with WI’s WK....

And, the worst Captain, again may be tied with Angelo. However, SRL has sacked a player like Angelo as Captain & dropped him from ODI team on fitness.

That makes him 12 by 12.....

I think, more than his cricket or tactics, Sarfraz represents a particular City of PAK, that has by far the largest population among PAK cities & highest number of PP members here - and for them, their regional bias comes ahead of national interest. Otherwise, with my little experience I have never seen such a mediocre Captain & below average player being blindly supported by so many “fans”.

There is regional/communal bias in every country - IND, SRL (Tamil v Sinhalese), AUS (Vics v NSW), WIN (Black/Indian or Barbados/Jamaica/T&T/Guyana) ..... even in England there is Lancashire/Yorkshire/Surrey/Warwickshire...... but, I have never seen as such like Sarfraz, which is a shame to be honest.

PCB has their own trouble, therefore might not be able to replace/sack this guy - but it’s really surprising to see that people spending 1-2 hours everyday on cricket here are spending their time to find reasons/excuses to back this 12 by 12 guy.

Sarfaraz is better than Niall O'Brien of Ireland who has been poor even against associates

 

[yasir]

People who want Sarfraz sacked are only jubiliant in their criticism, without providing any solutions. Malik is not an option, that ship sailed a long time ago. Specially given his track record of oath-taking and what-not. Sorry, but thanks I would much rather have this mediocre cricketer than a scheming individual with an axe to grind.

Also, Malik was as good as a tail-ender in New Zealand. Sarfraz performed better than this new champion of Pakistan cricket on that tour.

Pakistani fans and media make Captaincy such a big deal. It’s not rocket science, first and foremost person should be able to hold the place in the team. Sarfraz was forced selection in LOIs, he is never in the team on merit, that is the fundamental problem.

Pakistan has habit of making non playing Captain. Hafeez, Azhar, Sarfraz etc. Malik is only sher in Asia, he will be sitting duck in west, problem is Sarfraz cannot even play spin, which was supposed to be his only credentials in batting

This seniors and Captaincy mantra has not worked for Pakistan in last 15 years. I am not sure what is so special about seniors, most seniors are looking up to juniors to do actual work?? - Sarfraz is looking at Fakir to do everything, if he fails so is Pakistan, they are there for cheerleading, is that the real reason to have Senior Captain??

Misbah used to blame either openers or Umar Akmal, he used to snail to 150 in 40 overs, and then let UA take it to 280...

Secondly, we heavily rely on bowlers to defend low scores all the time, Again I don’t get the point of making these gutless seniors Captain, what exactly they are adding to the team??

If Fakir/Babar/Fahim/Shadab has to carry this team, they make them Captain. What is point of useless cheerleaders as Captains. First let Sarfraz be in the team on merit.

 

[MMHS]

Sarfaraz is better than Niall O'Brien of Ireland who has been poor even against associates

Woah, perfect standard set - as they say, like player like fan.

By any chance outside CricInfo, have you ever seen O’brian keeping?

Actually my mistake - I should have made it 3 dimensional - Captain, WK & batsmen among Wicket keepers. May be then he could have avoided 12 cube - still that’s not sure on last 12 months consideration.

 

[Hawkeye]

As I wrote in other thread -

Among 12 teams, Sarfraz is the worst WK-Batsman, may be tied with WI’s WK....

And, the worst Captain, again may be tied with Angelo. However, SRL has sacked a player like Angelo as Captain & dropped him from ODI team on fitness.

That makes him 12 by 12.....

I think, more than his cricket or tactics, Sarfraz represents a particular City of PAK, that has by far the largest population among PAK cities & highest number of PP members here - and for them, their regional bias comes ahead of national interest. Otherwise, with my little experience I have never seen such a mediocre Captain & below average player being blindly supported by so many “fans”.

There is regional/communal bias in every country - IND, SRL (Tamil v Sinhalese), AUS (Vics v NSW), WIN (Black/Indian or Barbados/Jamaica/T&T/Guyana) ..... even in England there is Lancashire/Yorkshire/Surrey/Warwickshire...... but, I have never seen as such like Sarfraz, which is a shame to be honest.

PCB has their own trouble, therefore might not be able to replace/sack this guy - but it’s really surprising to see that people spending 1-2 hours everyday on cricket here are spending their time to find reasons/excuses to back this 12 by 12 guy.

Very true. I have seen people blindly supporting him just because he's from that region.

And [MENTION=1650]Usman Chadda[/MENTION] , barring Malik who is a very poor captaincy choice, you have many potential options. Aamir, Imam, Babar, to start with.

You can even bring someone from the outside and make them captain. Just like Misbah was called back and directly made the captain. Look in domestics.

Sarfraz doesn't merit a spot after 2 years of continuous failures.

 

[Shandarchowka]

Sarfraz is the best bet at the moment. Let's give him more time he will come good.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Very true. I have seen people blindly supporting him just because he's from that region.

And [MENTION=1650]Usman Chadda[/MENTION] , barring Malik who is a very poor captaincy choice, you have many potential options. Aamir, Imam, Babar, to start with.

You can even bring someone from the outside and make them captain. Just like Misbah was called back and directly made the captain. Look in domestics.

Sarfraz doesn't merit a spot after 2 years of continuous failures.

Amir has just been dropped from the team. Babar is a mentally weak character, who should be left alone to work on his strike-rate issues against good teams. Imam, really?

Sarfraz is not the captain we need or the captain we want, however he is by default the captian we are stuck with since there is no gunjaaish to move from him. I’m interested to know of this left-field choice for captain. Anyone in mind?

 

[Hawkeye]

Amir has just been dropped from the team. Babar is a mentally weak character, who should be left alone to work on his strike-rate issues against good teams. Imam, really?

Sarfraz is not the captain we need or the captain we want, however he is by default the captian we are stuck with since there is no gunjaaish to move from him. I’m interested to know of this left-field choice for captain. Anyone in mind?

You're assuming that Sarfraz is mentally and tactically strong.

That's far from reality - he's a dud. Amazing how you can judge Babar to be "weak" just because he's skinny and does not run his mouth a lot in the field.

 

[Usman Chadda]

You're assuming that Sarfraz is mentally and tactically strong.

That's far from reality - he's a dud. Amazing how you can judge Babar to be "weak" just because he's skinny and does not run his mouth a lot in the field.

How did you infer I think Babar is weak because he’s skinny?

Pakistan’s batting was in deep trouble throughout the Asia Cup because Babar (and ofcourse Fakhar) failed to show up. The one match he did, he batted at a pathetic SR of 60. Babar needs to focus on improving his own performances, than be thrust with the captaincy job at this age.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Too many issues.

But one thing is certain.

Until Sarfraz starts performing, the situation will get worse for him.

 

[Hawkeye]

How did you infer I think Babar is weak because he’s skinny?

Pakistan’s batting was in deep trouble throughout the Asia Cup because Babar (and ofcourse Fakhar) failed to show up. The one match he did, he batted at a pathetic SR of 60. Babar needs to focus on improving his own performances, than be thrust with the captaincy job at this age.

He's one of the only 2 -3 players whose name is first on the team sheet.

Sarfraz does not make the team, how can he be the captain? And one with no leadership ability shown so far?

This debate will go on forever.

 

[Usman Chadda]

He's one of the only 2 -3 players whose name is first on the team sheet.

Sarfraz does not make the team, how can he be the captain? And one with no leadership ability shown so far?

This debate will go on forever.

C’mon man, Babar Azam as captain is a disaster waiting to happen. Just does not have the personality, neither does he have the game to inspire his team-mates. It’ll be quite sad to watch the captain play pre-meditated dot balls when the opposition has scored 300+. Leave him to work on his game, rather than put him under even more pressure with the added responsibility of captaincy.

Imam and Fakhar have no chance, right now anyway. We are stuck with Sarfraz, or shall we bring back The Professor as a left-field option?

 

[the Great Khan]

Oh bhai, instead of tooting your horn over your 30+ years of experience and doing aye baye shayen, please try to understand the point.

No one is suggesting that we will start beating top teams if we make XYZ captain. Clearly, there are bigger issues with this team than Sarfraz’s captaincy, which has not been impressive to begin with.

However, the fundamental issue is that Sarfraz is not pulling his own weight and is not performing as a player at all. A captain has to first and foremost perform as an individual player, and he is not doing that at all.

This is not about bad form, this is about his incapability. Bad form does not last for two years, and Sarfraz’s whole career has been a rough patch barring a purple patch in 2014-2015.

He is simply not a very good players, that is it. You are right that he cannot make XYZ perform, but is in control of his own performance - Babar might have the spine of a jelly or a custard, but he is still performing far better than captain fantastic.

No player is letting the team down more than Sarfraz.

You are right that changing captaincy will not change anything and we have bigger issues, but one of these bigger issues is Sarfraz’s awful individual performance.

He should not be in the team because we cannot carry him any longer. He doesn’t deserve any special protection because he is the captain, especially after leading us to 7 straight losses to New Zealand and India with his excellent tactics.

Once he is out of the team, we can worry about the captaincy, but at least it won’t be given to arguably the worst player in the squad.

Abay yaar who are you going to replace him with? this isnt Australia where you pick the player then the captain. This is Pakistan. There is no replacement and yes he is out of form but people like Babar are incapable. End of.. We have nobody good enough to be captain other than Sarfraz and that is simply the truth..

I do agree with the form question. If his form continues to be rubbish we are going to have to make a decision..its as if he's forgotten how to bat!!