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Should Sarfaraz Ahmed resign as the Pakistan ODI skipper?

Should Sarfaraz Ahmed resign as the Pakistan ODI skipper?

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He was of course the skipper for the successful CHampions Trophy, but after the debacle of the Asia Cup should he resign as ODI skipper?
 
Resign now and resign from the ODI team. Take a break from cricket!
 
No NO NO NO!!!! UAE is completely different to English conditions, the squad we have right now is perfect for English pitches not the sub continent!

Also he averages 63 at 89 strike rate, by far our best batsman in England!
 
Yes imo, he's not the batsman he was back in 14-15, and his good captaincy is just a myth. That being said, I don't know who would replace him.
 
Dunno about Sarfraz, but Mickey and Inzi will face some serious heat from the media after this debacle. The non-selections of Hafeez and Akmal has caused a furore already, and this definitely won't help.
 
Inzi and Sarfaraz should resign


Hasan and Amir should be dropped.




But nothing will happen pretty much the same eleven will step out in our next match.
 
NO, he shouldn't be allowed to resign - he should be sacked. PCB made the same mistake with Azhar, hence he stuck to the team for one more year. If he is allowed to resign, sympathy vote & Karachi quota will keep him with the team for at least a year.

Sarfraz should be SACKED for spoiling the team - today, the rot started when his buddy started to bowl left-arm pies to a pair starting at 12/3 on a spinners' track without dew. This guy is blocking a WK, and a genuine SLAO spinner in the team, not to mention the Vice Captain. And, to accommodate him, entire batting line-up has to be reorganized - can't bat at 6, can't open ...... so they are playing a N. 14 at No. 4. In fact not 14, No. 24 - he is worthy of reserve WK in A team. Should have been sacked after 2-0 against SRL, or at least 5-0 against NZ.
 
Ya Sarfi should resign and laugh standing on the corner. We can bring back Azhar and hand him the captaincy as always its very easy to forget what happened couple yrs ago. Or some experts are asking to give fakhar or malik the captaincy Bravo!!!!

Blame should be solely on Micky and Inzi. Doesn't Inzi know that tournament is in UAE where you need minimum 2 good spinners.

Micky has lots of say in selection of squad and playing 11. I have been hearing that Azhar Mahmood wanted Junaid to play ahead of Amir but Micky insisted for Amir. I am sure addition of guys like Asif Ali and Nawaz is part of his say too.
 
Oh please.

Pakistan have made huge improvements under his captaincy.

It's this short-sightedness and knee jerk reactions which explains why Pakistan's cricket has never been able to push on.
 
Plumb said:
Ya Sarfi should resign and laugh standing on the corner. We can bring back Azhar and hand him the captaincy as always its very easy to forget what happened couple yrs ago. Or some experts are asking to give fakhar or malik the captaincy Bravo!!!!
.
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This (add our great odi record under Misbah too).

mak36 said:
Oh please.

Pakistan have made huge improvements under his captaincy.

It's this short-sightedness and knee jerk reactions which explains why Pakistan's cricket has never been able to push on.
Click to expand...

And this.
 
Yes he should. Not reaching the final is a major tragedy for Pak Cricket as it means we are not even a top two side in Asia. Got thrashed twice by India and today Bangladesh brushed us aside as well. Even Afghanistan ran us incredibly close. If all that is not enough Sarafaraz is not scoring runs either.
 
This is tough one considering World Cup is next year I would say no he needs to work on his own game and better plan a head
 
I will keep Sarfraz for one reason and only one reason. He must open the batting with Imam ul Haq. I had enough of him sitting 6, 7, 8 where he averages in the 20s. He averages 43 as an opener. We need a new decent young rescuing genuine batsmen in the middle or lower order. Amongst the likes of Saad Ali or Hafeez.
 
No most of our team is good for conditions in England in my opinion. We should just check one other WK Batsman and 2 3 middle order replacements just to see if there is any potential candidate.
 
Sure. Just one question...

Who’s going to replace him?

Fakhar? (He already has too much on his plate).

Babar? (Mr. Chicken Legs who is 23).

Malik? ( Captained Pakistan and KK; both of which he resigned).

Amir? (Can’t buy a wicket and tainted past).

Is there a Mikaeel Brearliaqat in the domestic scene waiting to be unleashed?
 
only 2 out of 14 players performed. what can he do? PCB did not organize games against competitive teams after CT and Inzi decided to send 6 pacers to UAE. All ignoring the fact that Pakistan's strength in UAE was always middle overs where Afridi, Hafeez or Imad would strangle the teams.
 
mak36 said:
Oh please.

Pakistan have made huge improvements under his captaincy.

It's this short-sightedness and knee jerk reactions which explains why Pakistan's cricket has never been able to push on.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Improvements were on the show last night.lol
 
There is no one to replace him at the moment. Malik is the only candidate but again he will be a stop gap solution as he is old and will not be playing for a long time. So better to stick with Sarfaraz and try to mentor a new captain under him. Change the management around the captain as that should make the difference.
 
You cant have a non performing captain who doesn't deserve a place in the team. This is why his team mates don't respect him. Frankly speaking Sarfaraz has had more than enough time to find form and his on field captaincy is not earth shattering, he does not look like someone who has been captaining sides for 10 plus year. Whoever the PCB chooses as captain, it cannot be Sarfaraz for sure.
 
Malik need to be the captain of the side Sarfarz should bat at 6 or 7. Malik is more calmer personality. Sarafarz is all over the place... He dictates bowlers way too much instead planning his fielding well.
 
He should step down as captain but I think it may even be worth trying him as an opener. He played some pretty good knocks there for us, even in WC15.

Malik is not the best of captains but should be tried as a captain. There seems to be a real difference between Sarfraz's captaincy in the CT, where he was quite aggressive, and last night where he seemed almost clueless. Still think we should try him and Shan Masood as openers some time in the near future.
 
You don’t want to become another srilanka
Should back him and other main players also
 
This debacle should give him something to ponder on.
After CT, he almost had free ride for an year, no contribution whatsoever. Thats why his team mates start disrespecting him [Hassan Ali incident in NZ]. Further, he has to grow himself as a leader not as a task master. It happens, people gets frustrated that the least performer in the team is shouting at them for the world to see.

I don't think sacking him would be a solution, but this is time he receives feedback and be told to deliver results. If not then, I would definitely rate Imad as captaincy material. He was very good with KK.
 
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A real conundrum this one. There really aren't a lot of other options available at the moment but then given Sarfaraz's form he is having too much of a negative influence on the team to persist with him. As MMHS rightly pointed out, he is not just failing to deliver as a batsman but in an effort to regain his form by shuffling himself up and down the order also upsetting the batting order. The less said about his captaincy and tactics the better. In my opinion, he should be relieved of the captaincy (Malik seems to be the only realistic replacement for now) but not dropped from the team. Without captaincy his own game might improve enough for him to merit a place in the team. As of now he doesn't deserve to be a part of the team but given the mediocre options available, it might just be better to give him another chance as a WK. If he regains his confidence as a keeper and batsman and can justify his place in the eleven as a player then perhaps he could be reinstated as the captain in the future (personally I do not see him fit to be a captain - both in terms of taking pressure and tactical nous).
 
MRSN said:
Yeah. Improvements were on the show last night.lol
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Post Champions Trophy, the tactical genius has lead us to 8 defeats in 8 matches against teams ranked in the top 8, but “he has improved the team”.

There is a different between the nonsense that he has improved the team and that we have to stick with him because of lack of alternatives. I can accept the latter, but the former is burying your head into the ground like an ostrich.
 
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Mamoon said:
Post Champions Trophy, the tactical genius has lead us to 8 defeats in 8 matches against teams ranked in the top 8, but “he has improved the team”.

There is a different between the nonsense that he has improved the team and that we have to stick with him because of lack of alternatives. I can accept the latter, but the former is burying your head into the ground like an ostrich.

Anyway, fan-boys will be fan-boys.
Click to expand...

Would you rather have the Misbah era or this?
 
I think the problem is different.

There is no one in the team who can command any sort of respect by all the players and hence Sarfraz is not a captain by choice but by status quo. Its easy to bash Sarfraz (he deserves most of it, as I'll explain later on) but it's harder to find genuine alternatives in this team who might actually take over captaincy and be respected in that position.

Just at the back of my mind, Muhammad Amir name has been floated in circles but someone who cant even buy a wikcet at the moment is likely to be dropped permanently and it makes no sense to make him as captain till the World Cup. The alternative reality would be Muhammad Hafeez but he comes with a package as huge as being 10-1 in nearly almost every match because of his extraordinary edging skills which would make Chris Martin a better batsmen. Shoaib Malik is one person, but I don't think he is interested in captaincy. Which brings us to youngsters. However, the culture in Pakistan team is such that if you make someone like Imam captain or Babar captain, I doubt they can get a team of 11 egoistical individuals and make them gel together especially when in Pakistan, the captain does not get selected based on his skills but usually the oldest man in the team.

With Sarfraz the issue is glaring. He rode on the laurerls of his team performing out of their skin to win the Champions Trophy. He deservedly got all the credit and was hailed as a superb captain, a step ahead of Kohli. However a year down the line, all of this credibility has come plunging down with the knives being sharpened every match. His ardent fans would say "it's a process and Sarfraz is a good captain" but however, any astute observer can see that his best ability is "street smartness" which is useless on a pressure match in the field.

I don't criticize Sarfraz because we lost against India or NZ. Wins or defeats are part of the game. But his field placements, his bowling changes and his tactices have been flabbergasting. And it doesn't help when his fans try to defend even the worst of his tactical nous and skill. Moving forward, if this is best captain for Pakistan after Imran Khan, then I don't know what our standards are. All this could be forgiven if Sarfraz was piling up the runs. But his acute shortage of runs, means he cannot even lead by example. What is the point of the captain if he is a passenger in the side.

I rarely praise the Bangladesh team. But yesterday, when I saw Mashrafee holding that stunning catch, fielding almost every ball with dives, even though he is finished after knee surgeries, I found out what true passion is. Mashrafee with his field placements, his spinners strategy, his choke, got it spot on. He held on to the catch which gave them the match as Malik was the only one who could have stopped Bangladesh. And his celebration was perfect. Just stand there and show the world how its done. He is criticized as a trundler, as a useless player, beyond his time or anything. [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION], but he has the heart of a cricketer. I truly salute such players and yesterday his body language, his fielding and his level of knowledge versus Sarfraz was the difference between a win and loss.

Its difficult for Pakistan cricket moving forward. We have no captain ready to lead the team. Babar is not even scoring for now, to be handed over captaincy. Hasan seems on the verge of a meltdown and Shadab and Nawaz are downright ordinary. Should we hand the captaincy to Imam, who seems the be the only one with a calm head (albeit with moments of madess like yesteday), and trust him to be the one to carry the reigns. It is a possibility, but for South Africa it worked in making Smith a great player. I only worry if those who call him "******", "useless" and "bhanja" will really make him stay as captain.

Its difficult to see what positives Pakistan inspires from this performance. Most of the time they looked like they were led by a captain who couldn't believe his entire world was crashing in front of his own eyes by teams much better than Lankans, Ireland, Scotland and Zimbabwe.

And it showed in the last moments of the match when he sat alone in the chair with no one beside him and thinking where it all went wrong. I feel for Sarfraz. Perhaps if he had not won the Champions Trophy, the expectations would not be so high. But getting the basics not right is a crime and for that there will be definite repercussions for at least some people, if not Sarfraz.

A passing note. People are deluding themselves into believing that just like Champions Trophy in England, Pakistan will perform well because of great bowlers in the World Cup. The World Cup brings much more prestige and glory and effort from all 10 teams than a redundant and scrapped Champions Trophy. The same Australia, India, England, NZ and South Africa that lost to Pakistan at the Champions Trophy in England are not going to bend over and be rolled away, nor will Pakistan miraculously rise from the Ashes to reclaim the World Cup just because Sarfraz is leading and our bowlers perform well in England. The other teams have even better bowlers in England and will ruin our batting into oblivion on those surfaces.

When the captain of the team has no idea what has gone wrong with 8 months to go, usually the team cannot be saved.

But one can hope, for hope festers on.
 
Dr_Bassim said:
I think the problem is different.

There is no one in the team who can command any sort of respect by all the players and hence Sarfraz is not a captain by choice but by status quo. Its easy to bash Sarfraz (he deserves most of it, as I'll explain later on) but it's harder to find genuine alternatives in this team who might actually take over captaincy and be respected in that position.

Just at the back of my mind, Muhammad Amir name has been floated in circles but someone who cant even buy a wikcet at the moment is likely to be dropped permanently and it makes no sense to make him as captain till the World Cup. The alternative reality would be Muhammad Hafeez but he comes with a package as huge as being 10-1 in nearly almost every match because of his extraordinary edging skills which would make Chris Martin a better batsmen. Shoaib Malik is one person, but I don't think he is interested in captaincy. Which brings us to youngsters. However, the culture in Pakistan team is such that if you make someone like Imam captain or Babar captain, I doubt they can get a team of 11 egoistical individuals and make them gel together especially when in Pakistan, the captain does not get selected based on his skills but usually the oldest man in the team.

With Sarfraz the issue is glaring. He rode on the laurerls of his team performing out of their skin to win the Champions Trophy. He deservedly got all the credit and was hailed as a superb captain, a step ahead of Kohli. However a year down the line, all of this credibility has come plunging down with the knives being sharpened every match. His ardent fans would say "it's a process and Sarfraz is a good captain" but however, any astute observer can see that his best ability is "street smartness" which is useless on a pressure match in the field.

I don't criticize Sarfraz because we lost against India or NZ. Wins or defeats are part of the game. But his field placements, his bowling changes and his tactices have been flabbergasting. And it doesn't help when his fans try to defend even the worst of his tactical nous and skill. Moving forward, if this is best captain for Pakistan after Imran Khan, then I don't know what our standards are. All this could be forgiven if Sarfraz was piling up the runs. But his acute shortage of runs, means he cannot even lead by example. What is the point of the captain if he is a passenger in the side.

I rarely praise the Bangladesh team. But yesterday, when I saw Mashrafee holding that stunning catch, fielding almost every ball with dives, even though he is finished after knee surgeries, I found out what true passion is. Mashrafee with his field placements, his spinners strategy, his choke, got it spot on. He held on to the catch which gave them the match as Malik was the only one who could have stopped Bangladesh. And his celebration was perfect. Just stand there and show the world how its done. He is criticized as a trundler, as a useless player, beyond his time or anything. [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION], but he has the heart of a cricketer. I truly salute such players and yesterday his body language, his fielding and his level of knowledge versus Sarfraz was the difference between a win and loss.

Its difficult for Pakistan cricket moving forward. We have no captain ready to lead the team. Babar is not even scoring for now, to be handed over captaincy. Hasan seems on the verge of a meltdown and Shadab and Nawaz are downright ordinary. Should we hand the captaincy to Imam, who seems the be the only one with a calm head (albeit with moments of madess like yesteday), and trust him to be the one to carry the reigns. It is a possibility, but for South Africa it worked in making Smith a great player. I only worry if those who call him "******", "useless" and "bhanja" will really make him stay as captain.

Its difficult to see what positives Pakistan inspires from this performance. Most of the time they looked like they were led by a captain who couldn't believe his entire world was crashing in front of his own eyes by teams much better than Lankans, Ireland, Scotland and Zimbabwe.

And it showed in the last moments of the match when he sat alone in the chair with no one beside him and thinking where it all went wrong. I feel for Sarfraz. Perhaps if he had not won the Champions Trophy, the expectations would not be so high. But getting the basics not right is a crime and for that there will be definite repercussions for at least some people, if not Sarfraz.

A passing note. People are deluding themselves into believing that just like Champions Trophy in England, Pakistan will perform well because of great bowlers in the World Cup. The World Cup brings much more prestige and glory and effort from all 10 teams than a redundant and scrapped Champions Trophy. The same Australia, India, England, NZ and South Africa that lost to Pakistan at the Champions Trophy in England are not going to bend over and be rolled away, nor will Pakistan miraculously rise from the Ashes to reclaim the World Cup just because Sarfraz is leading and our bowlers perform well in England. The other teams have even better bowlers in England and will ruin our batting into oblivion on those surfaces.

When the captain of the team has no idea what has gone wrong with 8 months to go, usually the team cannot be saved.

But one can hope, for hope festers on.
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Excellent post. Can't have summed it up better. Sarfaraz's body language yesterday and in the latter half of the match against India clearly suggests that he is mentally drained and not upto the task. He wasn't even bashing his players as much as he usually does. There is a clear dearth of confidence in not just his own abilities but more importantly in that of his team. A good leader, even in the face of clear defeat will keep rallying his troops for the sake of their confidence and the future. The way his shoulders slumped at critical junctures in both of the last matches indicates he had no faith in his own team to come back and that for me is the worst thing a leader can do.
 
We don't have anyone who is able to be captain. Not saying that he is doing well, but we haven't groomed one.
Love how people are saying bring back hafeez and akmal. What did these two players achieve in the last 12 month's of playing for Pakistan. Are these two better than what we got?

We had a bad tournament and need to make minor tweaks before going all crazy and changing half team.
 
I don't think we should judge Pakistan harshly here. It was just one of those days when nothing went well for the team.

Let's not forget the core of the same team was there in CT17 where Pakistan defeated and humiliated India.

Let's not be over critical of the team.

Sarfaraz led with Panache in CT and led from the front.. let's not ridicule him now based on a few failures .. which even the best players go through.
 
makeup modeling aur shokhiyaan karwaa lo is squad se, par cricket, rehnay do yar...
 
Yes please, even if he doesn't resigns then sack him as soon as possible and bring someone who can at least contribute with bat at number 6 or 7.
 
YESSS! In my opinion hes the main culprit for this situation we find ourselves in. Malik should be the captain period.
 
Its useless to make him resign at this stage when the world cup is around the corner.

OK I agree we have been humiliated but this is not the right time and you do not have enough time to inspire a new captain for WC2019.
 
I said No.

I don't think Sarfaraz should continue, contrary to what [MENTION=57576]MRSN[/MENTION] implies whenever he quotes me. No, I think he should be sacked. Resigning is not his responsibility. Why should anyone resign from captaincy, unless they think they're not up to it? And if they think they're not up to it, why would they be captain in the first place?

It's up to PCB to drop and sack him, not for Sarfaraz to resign
 
wen u cant think of alternatives to Sarfaraz u know there are serious problems. Although i think changing the captain wont improve the standard of pak cricket. He certainly needs to show better body lamguage.There are much bigger and deeper issues with pak cricket according to wasim akram. inexperienced but talented guys like imam babar fakhar shaheen Hasan Shadab deserve to play a lot more before we pass judgements on them
 
Before baying for Sarfaraz's blood, let's understand the concept of Captaining Pakistan.

Whenever it comes to analysing Pak captain, the obvious benchmark is Imran Khan. But what exactly was Imran's captaincy style, that made the team so successful under him? It was the simple fact that he was sort of a Dictator within the team, where no one could stand up to him. But again, why no one could stand up to him? Simply coz he had the aura of a larger than life figure, of course backed up by his personal performances.

In a normal set up of things in a Pakistan team, it's like a city where various factions are at loggerheads to take control. Now to keep these factions from going against each other, & focus on a common goal, one needs someone with a stronger personality & an aura of dominance. Unfortunately Sarfaraz tried to emulate only one part, where he can be seen trying to intimidate the players, but sadly, he neither has the larger than life personality, nor is he a cult figure, & neither his own performances are there to fortify his position as the alpha male within the jungle.

He is not the brightest kid on the block alright, but will replacing Sarfaraz make any difference? I am afraid it wont, as his probable replacements aren't that inspiring anyway.

Just my 3 cents worth
 
No worth a place in side on merit and therefore needs to go, Its a shame pakistan have almost stopped trying to groom a back up keeper which means the captains mediocre performances have been put up with longer then they should have.
 
I feel that we also need to look at Sarfaraz's captaincy during PSL. QG continues to pick players which are his buddies and then he inspires them to punch above their weight.

The real issue is selection with both QG and Pakistan. Is Sarfaraz able to get past his bias and select players on Merit rather than personal likes/dislikes?
 
Square Drive said:
Would you rather have the Misbah era or this?
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Misbah era was far better, with much lower quality of players available. Won overseas, first time in SA, beat India in India.

But that's history. Stop going in the past. Sarfraz is not the future. Can never become a leader like Misbah was.
 
YousafTheBeast said:
No NO NO NO!!!! UAE is completely different to English conditions, the squad we have right now is perfect for English pitches not the sub continent!

Also he averages 63 at 89 strike rate, by far our best batsman in England!
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He's not the same batsman as he was in 2016. Back then he was superb at rotating strike and running 2s but now he is unfit, doesn't practice much and is just generally lazy. Ever since he won the CT he just doesn't have the same drive anymore.

Needs to be kicked out of the team.
 
Syed1 said:
Inzi and Sarfaraz should resign


Hasan and Amir should be dropped.




But nothing will happen pretty much the same eleven will step out in our next match.
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So as Babar, Haris, Nawaz and Asif
 
Are you guys really kidding me? It will literally do nothing, if he steps down. Also, there are a lack of options. In the future for odis, fakhar zaman should be made captain.
 
Hawkeye said:
Misbah era was far better, with much lower quality of players available. Won overseas, first time in SA, beat India in India.

But that's history. Stop going in the past. Sarfraz is not the future. Can never become a leader like Misbah was.
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Believe me I don't rate Sarfraz at all and want him kicked out of the side but Misbah was far far worse.

To prove this compare Misbah's CT 13 and Sarfraz's CT 17. In the former Misbah had decided to kick out Afridi and Umar Akmal with inferior players like Farhat, a very raw Umar Amin and etc.

England has been a happy hunting ground for Pakistan in the last 20 years in ICC tournaments where they have reached the semis from the 1999 WC till CT 2017 barring one tournament which happened to be Misbah's team and there is no coincidence! Hence why there is no basis whatsoever to rate his ODI captaincy.

1999 WC - Runner up
2004 CT - Semis
2009 WT20 - Winners
2013 CT - Knocked out group stage (Misbah's team)
2017 CT - Winners
 
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I see 3-4 people capable of being captain in the long if Sarfi resigns.

1. Babar Azam - Surely, the favourite. He seems to have a mature head on the shoulders and is being groomed as the next captain ( I would hope thats what the Pakistani think tank are doing at least). The drawback being he has only played a few tests.

2. Fakhar Zaman - Too green. Could be an aggressive captain. Has a solid spot in the XI

3. Md. Amir - Does not warrant a place in the XI, so would be a dangerous move. If he was performing, then he would have been a good candidate. Also, due to his past demeanours, PCB might not consider him.

4. Hasan Ali - Too green. Seems to have the personality, but do not know much about his leadership skills.


So pretty much Babar vs Fakhar if it has to be done right now. Both need a couple of years before they could take over the captaincy. So, if Sarfi resigns right now, it will leave a big gap in the leadership. You are better off with Sarfaraz as the captain till WC19, and then replacing him either of Babar or Fakhar. Who knows, some good performance (and hopefully displaying some leadership skills in PSL) might lead to even Hasan throwing his hat into the ring.
 
topspin said:
Believe me I don't rate Sarfraz at all and want him kicked out of the side but Misbah was far far worse.

To prove this compare Misbah's CT 13 and Sarfraz's CT 17.
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Sarfraz cannot even dream of defeating a top 5 side in any series. CT win was a fluke, Sarfraz holds the longest losing streak of 8 out of 8 games against the top 8 cricket nations.

And Misbah had far worse quality of players available in 2013. Yet he led from the front and was the highest scorer in CT.

Never in the history any Asian side has won in South Africa. The record still holds.

That era wasn't ideal and we had trash players, but this is worse, apparently the MODERN batting unit.
 
Ever since he also took the Test captaincy. He got downgraded. And the question is what else players we have for the captainship.

I would back him and others of our current players too. Need some changes in the team and in the management.
 
Sidilicious said:
I see 3-4 people capable of being captain in the long if Sarfi resigns.

1. Babar Azam - Surely, the favourite. He seems to have a mature head on the shoulders and is being groomed as the next captain ( I would hope thats what the Pakistani think tank are doing at least). The drawback being he has only played a few tests.

2. Fakhar Zaman - Too green. Could be an aggressive captain. Has a solid spot in the XI

3. Md. Amir - Does not warrant a place in the XI, so would be a dangerous move. If he was performing, then he would have been a good candidate. Also, due to his past demeanours, PCB might not consider him.

4. Hasan Ali - Too green. Seems to have the personality, but do not know much about his leadership skills.


So pretty much Babar vs Fakhar if it has to be done right now. Both need a couple of years before they could take over the captaincy. So, if Sarfi resigns right now, it will leave a big gap in the leadership. You are better off with Sarfaraz as the captain till WC19, and then replacing him either of Babar or Fakhar. Who knows, some good performance (and hopefully displaying some leadership skills in PSL) might lead to even Hasan throwing his hat into the ring.
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Amir has the best cricketing brain in the side. His bowling will be vital in England, will swing the new ball and be economical in later spells. He and Shaheen would complement each other really well. However PCB wouldn't have the guts making him captain.

In addition PCB is revolved by a seniority culture, so I can only see them replacing Sarfraz (if they choose to do so) with Shoaib Malik.
 
In my opinion, Merit=Performance. If you perform, only then you merit a spot.

Being a captain you have twice the responsibility compared to other members of the team.

Sarfraz is terrible in every regard.
 
no he shouldn't resign he should be sacked.Useless pathetic player in every aspect of the game.Baatein karwa lo iss se.
 
He should be removed, as a player wether captain or not his performance should speak for him, and in this case his performances are frankly not good enough. He has been given enough time to do turn things around.
 
Ideally question would be " Is there any alternative captain available atm"?

To be honest I think there is no alternative available, Malik is old and if PCB make him captain then it will affect his performance, Babar and Fakhar are not a good choice they can't even bear pressure Single-handedly and people are talking about them to lead the team.

Right now I think Imam and Amir are captaincy material in our team but as a captain both of them will apply defensive approach, which is not a good thing. In my view we should stick with Sarfaraz and give him some time + rest.
 
Dr_Bassim said:
I think the problem is different.

There is no one in the team who can command any sort of respect by all the players and hence Sarfraz is not a captain by choice but by status quo. Its easy to bash Sarfraz (he deserves most of it, as I'll explain later on) but it's harder to find genuine alternatives in this team who might actually take over captaincy and be respected in that position.

Just at the back of my mind, Muhammad Amir name has been floated in circles but someone who cant even buy a wikcet at the moment is likely to be dropped permanently and it makes no sense to make him as captain till the World Cup. The alternative reality would be Muhammad Hafeez but he comes with a package as huge as being 10-1 in nearly almost every match because of his extraordinary edging skills which would make Chris Martin a better batsmen. Shoaib Malik is one person, but I don't think he is interested in captaincy. Which brings us to youngsters. However, the culture in Pakistan team is such that if you make someone like Imam captain or Babar captain, I doubt they can get a team of 11 egoistical individuals and make them gel together especially when in Pakistan, the captain does not get selected based on his skills but usually the oldest man in the team.

With Sarfraz the issue is glaring. He rode on the laurerls of his team performing out of their skin to win the Champions Trophy. He deservedly got all the credit and was hailed as a superb captain, a step ahead of Kohli. However a year down the line, all of this credibility has come plunging down with the knives being sharpened every match. His ardent fans would say "it's a process and Sarfraz is a good captain" but however, any astute observer can see that his best ability is "street smartness" which is useless on a pressure match in the field.

I don't criticize Sarfraz because we lost against India or NZ. Wins or defeats are part of the game. But his field placements, his bowling changes and his tactices have been flabbergasting. And it doesn't help when his fans try to defend even the worst of his tactical nous and skill. Moving forward, if this is best captain for Pakistan after Imran Khan, then I don't know what our standards are. All this could be forgiven if Sarfraz was piling up the runs. But his acute shortage of runs, means he cannot even lead by example. What is the point of the captain if he is a passenger in the side.

I rarely praise the Bangladesh team. But yesterday, when I saw Mashrafee holding that stunning catch, fielding almost every ball with dives, even though he is finished after knee surgeries, I found out what true passion is. Mashrafee with his field placements, his spinners strategy, his choke, got it spot on. He held on to the catch which gave them the match as Malik was the only one who could have stopped Bangladesh. And his celebration was perfect. Just stand there and show the world how its done. He is criticized as a trundler, as a useless player, beyond his time or anything. [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION], but he has the heart of a cricketer. I truly salute such players and yesterday his body language, his fielding and his level of knowledge versus Sarfraz was the difference between a win and loss.

Its difficult for Pakistan cricket moving forward. We have no captain ready to lead the team. Babar is not even scoring for now, to be handed over captaincy. Hasan seems on the verge of a meltdown and Shadab and Nawaz are downright ordinary. Should we hand the captaincy to Imam, who seems the be the only one with a calm head (albeit with moments of madess like yesteday), and trust him to be the one to carry the reigns. It is a possibility, but for South Africa it worked in making Smith a great player. I only worry if those who call him "******", "useless" and "bhanja" will really make him stay as captain.

Its difficult to see what positives Pakistan inspires from this performance. Most of the time they looked like they were led by a captain who couldn't believe his entire world was crashing in front of his own eyes by teams much better than Lankans, Ireland, Scotland and Zimbabwe.

And it showed in the last moments of the match when he sat alone in the chair with no one beside him and thinking where it all went wrong. I feel for Sarfraz. Perhaps if he had not won the Champions Trophy, the expectations would not be so high. But getting the basics not right is a crime and for that there will be definite repercussions for at least some people, if not Sarfraz.

A passing note. People are deluding themselves into believing that just like Champions Trophy in England, Pakistan will perform well because of great bowlers in the World Cup. The World Cup brings much more prestige and glory and effort from all 10 teams than a redundant and scrapped Champions Trophy. The same Australia, India, England, NZ and South Africa that lost to Pakistan at the Champions Trophy in England are not going to bend over and be rolled away, nor will Pakistan miraculously rise from the Ashes to reclaim the World Cup just because Sarfraz is leading and our bowlers perform well in England. The other teams have even better bowlers in England and will ruin our batting into oblivion on those surfaces.

When the captain of the team has no idea what has gone wrong with 8 months to go, usually the team cannot be saved.

But one can hope, for hope festers on.
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I understand PAK's problem (regarding Captain), but isn't AFG, ZIM, IRL, SCT appointing Captain? Does their Captain looks like a burden for the team?

Expectation from Captain should depend on the quality of the team, or other way, a Captain is often as good as his team. We praise Mike Brearley so much for leadership, but he won't have made the 3rd XI of the then WI. He didn't make the ENG XI as well, hence he left on his own, otherwise TCCB would have kept him for few more years, at least till 1983 WC. But, there was a reason for his appointment, I'll explain here.

So, first criteria to select a Captain is that HE MUST MAKE THE XI ON PLAYING MERIT. Now, playing merit will be different for WIN of 1979 & ZIM of 2018. Lloyd made the XI of WIN 1979 on merit, so does Cremer for ZIM 2018.

Now, in some special cases, you might make some one Captain for a purpose. I can give some examples from history - first two British Indian Test Captains were Mahraja of Porbandar & Maharaja of Bijayangram - simple reason was that they were royalty and main sponsor of cricket in IND, even for the tours. ENG had a tradition that Amateurs lead the Test side while professionals are paid match fee - till 1964, there was a different class in County cricket and each of the County Captains were amateurs (read elites - often these amateurs used to get more money as gift, but middle class pros were hard working people, used to pay tax on their cricket earnings as it was wage, not gift). So, ENG had to appoint many Sirs & Lords & Barrons as their Captain - from Sir Stanley Jackson to Lord Harris to Barron Tennyson. JB Hobbs, Syd Barnes, Ernst Tydesley, George Lohman, Tom Richardson, Herbert Sutclife, CB Fry, Maurice Tate ..... were never made even deputy (even in Counties) because they were professionals. One thing for sure -may not be best players, but these elite Amateurs were well educated from Oxbridge (all most all of them Oxbridge Blue), and cunning in tactics. Last such English Captain was Tony Lewis, who brought his ENG team to IND in 1970-71.

Apart from that, sometimes you make someone Captain under extraordinary circumstances - either you don't have alternatives or that Captain is someone almost unparalleled in tactics. When Packer took 17 of their best players, AUS did recall their former Captain RB Simpson at 43, retired almost 10 years back. Apartheid SAF had a policy of white Captains, and they had few specialist Captains for their background - last one was Ali Bacher, a genuine passenger in what must have to be one of the best ever teams in history.

Similarly, Tony Greig went to WSC & took his deputy Allen Knott with him, then Amiss joined him - ECB was forced to call back Brearley as a stop gap. In 1988, ENG were in desperate situation - lost previous year to PAK, and being hammered by WIN for a decade - then Gooch, Gatting took a team to SAF, so for 1988 Series they sacked Gatting, then Gower, and then Embury was made Captain, probably Lamb as well - result was same, thrashing in side 3-4 days. For 1 Test, if I can recall correctly, Chris Cowdrey was made Captain on debut, after 10-12 years as Captain of Kent. NZ also made a WK Captain on debut (forgot name - may be Lee Germon, in 1994, at 30+ after leading domestic side for a decade), after both Martin Crowe & Deon Nash were forced to retire with injury. ECB once thought of making Peter Robuck as specialist Captain. But, I can tell you - might not be top players, but these guys Ali Bacher, Tony Lewis, Brearley, Simpson, Cowdrey, Robuck, Germon ...... were some of the best cricket minds around, I have read many of their books, articles on cricket - there was a logic to appoint them.

Tell me, which box this guy Sarfraz ticks - then we'll discuss further. On top of that, he is destroying the balance of the team with his batting position - latest I hear is "Open with him", as if opening is so easy. Last time I read from one of his pankha that Sarfraz should start practicing bowling so that he can contribute in the team .......

They say like father, like son ...... I say like team, like Captain - may be naya Pakistan deserves a worthy Captain like Sarfraz.
 
Absolutely not. The WC is too close for such a big change in the set up. You've invested all this time in Sarfraz, stick by that decision and reevaluate after the WC.

Also, there are practically no alternatives at our disposal.
 
Here's my question.

Every time a team fails in a competition should the captain resign?

Should Kohli have resigned after the 2014 Asia cup? Should Dhoni have resigned after the 2012 Asia cup?
 
RickyG said:
Here's my question.

Every time a team fails in a competition should the captain resign?

Should Kohli have resigned after the 2014 Asia cup? Should Dhoni have resigned after the 2012 Asia cup?
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Kohli was a stand-in captain in the 2014 Asia Cup because Dhoni was resting, and Dhoni was still a top player in 2012. However, he resigned from captaincy in Tests and ODIs when he was no longer at the top of his game.

When your team is getting thrashed and as a captain your individual performance is horrendous, and has been horrendous for a long time to an extent where you are the worst performing player in the squad, you should not resign - you should be sacked.
 
Mamoon said:
Kohli was a stand-in captain in the 2014 Asia Cup because Dhoni was resting, and Dhoni was still a top player in 2012. However, he resigned from captaincy in Tests and ODIs when he was no longer at the top of his game.

When your team is getting thrashed and as a captain your individual performance is horrendous, and has been horrendous for a long time to an extent where you are the worst performing player in the squad, you should not resign - you should be sacked.
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Fair enough with regards to 2014. In 2012, he could've been a top player without being captain. The question does not change. We tolerated Misbah's captaincy for so long in ODIs because he was the only one scoring runs. Were there better options for captaincy at the time? Yes there were.

I agree that his form has really not been good enough. But the Asia cup and the NZ series are his only real failures in ODIs. Most of the time he just hasn't bothered to bat. The next question is how long of a rope does he deserve?

I'm not defending Sarfraz but I am playing the devil's advocate to the knee-jerk reactions. The truth is this team is not very good. There aren't any players in domestic cricket that will improve this team dramatically. It is neither over-achieving nor under-achieving.
 
I don't think there's a replacement and not so wise so close to the world cup. And Malik doesn't want it.

What I'd do is relieve him from test captaincy atm, give it to someone else (Azhar or Asad would do, it doesn't matter). Less things to focus on.

I'd formally announce our vice captain (if we haven't already) as Malik and for him to take a greater role helping with captaincy i.e. giving advice. If Malik doesn't want to be captain, this is the next best thing.
 
ads101 said:
I don't think there's a replacement and not so wise so close to the world cup. And Malik doesn't want it.

What I'd do is relieve him from test captaincy atm, give it to someone else (Azhar or Asad would do, it doesn't matter). Less things to focus on.

I'd formally announce our vice captain (if we haven't already) as Malik and for him to take a greater role helping with captaincy i.e. giving advice. If Malik doesn't want to be captain, this is the next best thing.
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I agree. In hindsight, giving him test captaincy was unnecessary. With Asad or Azhar as captain Sarfraz would basically be an automatic vice-captain which is good enough. The PCB have over-burdened Sarfraz keeping in mind he is also a wicket keeper.
 
RickyG said:
Fair enough with regards to 2014. In 2012, he could've been a top player without being captain. The question does not change. We tolerated Misbah's captaincy for so long in ODIs because he was the only one scoring runs. Were there better options for captaincy at the time? Yes there were.

I agree that his form has really not been good enough. But the Asia cup and the NZ series are his only real failures in ODIs. Most of the time he just hasn't bothered to bat. The next question is how long of a rope does he deserve?

I'm not defending Sarfraz but I am playing the devil's advocate to the knee-jerk reactions. The truth is this team is not very good. There aren't any players in domestic cricket that will improve this team dramatically. It is neither over-achieving nor under-achieving.
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What do you mean not bothered to bat? What sort of a captain is he? It is not as if the team is loaded with world class batsmen and Sarfraz the selfless leader is sitting in the dressing with his feet up. Our batting has been shaky but he was not prepared to take any responsibility. He did try it now in the Asia Cup but he failed as expected.

These are not knee-jerk reactions - people have been frustrated with Sarfraz playing as a specialist captain for a while. He has been failing to perform as a player, and now that the team is getting smashed, his lack of performances are being highlighted more.

I completely agree with you that this is a mediocre team and there are no world beaters waiting in the wings. However, that is not a good enough justification to give a free ride to a player who is out of his depth in every department.
 
I'm uncomfortable with Sarfaraz continually pushing himself up the batting order despite being in horrible form. It's almost as if he thinks he is some sort of saviour of the batting and can carry the team to victory.

Sri Lanka at the Champions Trophy doesn't happen every day Sarfaraz Bhai.
 
Saj said:
I'm uncomfortable with Sarfaraz continually pushing himself up the batting order despite being in horrible form. It's almost as if he thinks he is some sort of saviour of the batting and can carry the team to victory.

Sri Lanka at the Champions Trophy doesn't happen every day Sarfaraz Bhai.
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It's a damned if you do and damned if you don't kind of a situation for him, isn't it? If he stays back, he'd be accused of being a coward. If he comes up the order, he'll get criticized like you did.

I, personally, think it's better that he bats up the order and gives himself time to construct the innings. It'll be even worse if he comes down the order when you don't have time to consume deliveries and get some sort of form back.
 
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He shouldn't resign. He should be sacked. The decision should be taken out of his hand. He isn't performing in his primary role , doesn't make the team on merit, and his attitude towards fitness is a disgrace. Don't present yo yo tests to me. Passing a yoyo test doesn't mean you will be fit enough to play 10 games in about 40 odd days for next year WC. Also he isn't a tatcial genius which his fans try to portray. He goes on the defenesive as soon as 1 bowler is hit for a boundary. Even his fans were praising him changing the bowling, I'm sorry that doesn't make you a tatcial genius. Furthmore the fact you are praising something like that shows you are just grasping onto anything to make him look good.

He has been given a long rope and he has proven to be a average player. Our next captain should be selected first by making sure he makes the team on merit. If a captain doesn't make the team on merit, how is he going to instruct and tell others to improve when he doesn't even deserve his place ? Furthermore if a captain doesn't make a team on merit , they are under double pressure. 1 to prove they belong in the side and responsbillity to perform as captain. Also a captain should be able to lead by example with fitness and through performances. If you see your captain doing his job day in and day out , it will motivate you to do well. And you will want to raise your level to his level. It's inspiring. As I said earlier how will others perform for a captain who isn't performing?

Sarfraz did a good job of winning the CT but we need to move on. Before his fans say I hate Sarfraz , no I do not hate him. I just want what is best for Pakistan cricket team. I believe Sarfraz is not taking us forward and isn't good enough for where I want Pakistan to be . So he shouldn't be kept on sentimental reasons and because there is supposedly no one good enough. We may as well close domestic cricket if there is no keeper who can have better fitness than Sarfraz , keep to an international standard , and average over 30 as a batsmen. Also you don't know if someone is good enough, not every great player is great in domestics. Sometimes they perform at international level and improve . We aren't even developing a back up for Sarfraz even though he is over 30.

Sarfraz thank you for your service , but for the betterment of our cricket. You need to move on as a player and as a captain. If he isn't going to resign, he should be sacked.
 
Sarfraz should just start playing Misbah-esque innings of 50 (80) balls and stop worrying about if the team wins or loses. That'll at least secure his own place in the team just like it used to do for Misbah.
 
The team takes Captain's persona. That has been the norm.

There is not enough time to appoint a new captain and get the team performing before the WC. SL is having a hard time keeping one captain and look at their problems. Pakistan is ranked 5th in the world. When was the last time they were ranked that high? I believe 2012 January.
 
Hasan123 said:
He shouldn't resign. He should be sacked. The decision should be taken out of his hand. He isn't performing in his primary role , doesn't make the team on merit, and his attitude towards fitness is a disgrace. Don't present yo yo tests to me. Passing a yoyo test doesn't mean you will be fit enough to play 10 games in about 40 odd days for next year WC. Also he isn't a tatcial genius which his fans try to portray. He goes on the defenesive as soon as 1 bowler is hit for a boundary. Even his fans were praising him changing the bowling, I'm sorry that doesn't make you a tatcial genius. Furthmore the fact you are praising something like that shows you are just grasping onto anything to make him look good.

He has been given a long rope and he has proven to be a average player. Our next captain should be selected first by making sure he makes the team on merit. If a captain doesn't make the team on merit, how is he going to instruct and tell others to improve when he doesn't even deserve his place ? Furthermore if a captain doesn't make a team on merit , they are under double pressure. 1 to prove they belong in the side and responsbillity to perform as captain. Also a captain should be able to lead by example with fitness and through performances. If you see your captain doing his job day in and day out , it will motivate you to do well. And you will want to raise your level to his level. It's inspiring. As I said earlier how will others perform for a captain who isn't performing?

Sarfraz did a good job of winning the CT but we need to move on. Before his fans say I hate Sarfraz , no I do not hate him. I just want what is best for Pakistan cricket team. I believe Sarfraz is not taking us forward and isn't good enough for where I want Pakistan to be . So he shouldn't be kept on sentimental reasons and because there is supposedly no one good enough. We may as well close domestic cricket if there is no keeper who can have better fitness than Sarfraz , keep to an international standard , and average over 30 as a batsmen. Also you don't know if someone is good enough, not every great player is great in domestics. Sometimes they perform at international level and improve . We aren't even developing a back up for Sarfraz even though he is over 30.

Sarfraz thank you for your service , but for the betterment of our cricket. You need to move on as a player and as a captain. If he isn't going to resign, he should be sacked.
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There is no other captain in Pakistan. It's easy to criticize, but you haven't provided any solutions to our woes. Sarfraz has been awful, but I don't see anyone capable of being better than him when it comes to captaincy. Malik is not interested. He's not even interested in providing input on the field, and just stands there at third-man or long-on/long-off like a loner. This is something Hafeez does not do. He makes sure he's providing advice on the field, sometimes taking it too far I guess.

We have a non-performing captain we cannot replace, since we literally have zero alternatives. Heard Amir's name floated on PP time and again, the guy is the first name to be dropped from the team after this debacle :))
 
Usman Chadda said:
There is no other captain in Pakistan. It's easy to criticize, but you haven't provided any solutions to our woes. Sarfraz has been awful, but I don't see anyone capable of being better than him when it comes to captaincy. Malik is not interested. He's not even interested in providing input on the field, and just stands there at third-man or long-on/long-off like a loner. This is something Hafeez does not do. He makes sure he's providing advice on the field, sometimes taking it too far I guess.

We have a non-performing captain we cannot replace, since we literally have zero alternatives. Heard Amir's name floated on PP time and again, the guy is the first name to be dropped from the team after this debacle :))
Click to expand...


So our solution is to keep a non performing captain who won't improve?

I don't care it Babar , Malik , or Fakhar is made captain. I would rather try that then stick with Sarfraz.
 
Hasan123 said:
So our solution is to keep a non performing captain who won't improve?

I don't care it Babar , Malik , or Fakhar is made captain. I would rather try that then stick with Sarfraz.
Click to expand...
Malik is not interested.

Babar's place in the team will be under pressure soon, if he continues to flounder against top opposition (which he'll face plenty till the WC).

Fakhar just had one of the biggest meltdowns ever seen in Pakistan cricket.

So, where do we stand?
 
Snowflake said:
Sarfraz should just start playing Misbah-esque innings of 50 (80) balls and stop worrying about if the team wins or loses. That'll at least secure his own place in the team just like it used to do for Misbah.
Click to expand...

He is not capable of surviving 80 balls, unless you talk about the whole series combined. You need minimum quality to survive 80 balls, then comes scoring 50 as well. International cricket is not Karachi's galli cricket.
 
Usman Chadda said:
Malik is not interested.

Babar's place in the team will be under pressure soon, if he continues to flounder against top opposition (which he'll face plenty till the WC).

Fakhar just had one of the biggest meltdowns ever seen in Pakistan cricket.

So, where do we stand?
Click to expand...

Who said Malik is not interested? Same point was mentioned last year for Amir.
 
MMHS said:
He is not capable of surviving 80 balls, unless you talk about the whole series combined. You need minimum quality to survive 80 balls, then comes scoring 50 as well. International cricket is not Karachi's galli cricket.
Click to expand...

:))) :)))

These guys have no shame bro. They don't understand how rubbish a player he is.
 
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