Should Shoaib Malik be made the captain of Pakistan's ODI team?

[sensible-indian-fan]

Shoaib Malik has time and time again proven himself to be one of the most shrewd players from Pakistan.

Should selectors force him to become captain and make him use his natural talent on the field?

As a batsman, he won't click much in tournaments or against pacers but as a captain, he is definitely a step up from Azhar the ODI captain.

Pakistan needs a real captain and leader at this crucial juncture.

He has a lot of foresight which Pakistan could use.

 

[Speedster777]

Malik over hafeez , misbah and azhar anyday! But I would go for a younger aggressive captain.

 

[goran]

No, he belongs to the 90s generation and is too old now. Next captain should be either Sarfaraz or a youngster who knows about today's cricket, maybe Babar Azam.

 

[Hawkeye]

No place for someone who's so afraid of pace and can't even put bat on ball against half decent pacer.

Doesn't deserve to be in ODIs or T20s, so how can he captain?

 

[-=Umair=-]

Ahmed Shehzad

 

[cricketerB94]

Sarfraz Ahmed

 

[Hasan123]

He's fighting for his own place in the team SIF bhai, I would go with Sarfarz with anymore Babar,Amir, or Imad as vice captain.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Sarfraz captain
Babar vice captain

 

[Markhor]

Shoaib Malik has time and time again proven himself to be one of the most shrewd players from Pakistan.

Should selectors force him to become captain and make him use his natural talent on the field?

As a batsman, he won't click much in tournaments or against pacers but as a captain, he is definitely a step up from Azhar the ODI captain.

Pakistan needs a real captain and leader at this crucial juncture.

He has a lot of foresight which Pakistan could use.

In that case, why make him captain ?

Malik is not a long-term option. Sarfraz has already done a decent job in ODIs and should be given the captaincy in all three formats this year.

 

[Square Drive]

What?

He himself doesn't even wanna be the captain.

 

[Markhor]

No place for someone who's so afraid of pace and can't even put bat on ball against half decent pacer.

Doesn't deserve to be in ODIs or T20s, so how can he captain?

Unless its the mighty Chris Mpofu, Elton Chigumbura or Hamilton Masakadza with their 120kph thunderbolts - then Malik saab makes a magical transformation into frickin' Bradman on steroids.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

If a guy is smart enough to know what to do when and is 10 steps ahead of his team mates, why not be a captain?

 

[MMHS]

If a guy is smart enough to know what to do when and is 10 steps ahead of his team mates, why not be a captain?

The ship has sailed past - he was the best man after Misbah till 2017 TC; but not now. He is still smart, but on his last leg - luckily for him, he is likely to miss 2/3 ODIs in AUS; otherwise you could have seen that. Now, Aussies might rest Starc/Josh from 4th ODI.

I can bet that, he won't have allowed that 0-3 in BD such haplessly, neither losing 2 ODI against this SRL side (that too once defending 290 under lights at Palekelle & once allowing 370 .....) or would have allowed Poms to win 6 of the 7 LOs in UAE - not to mention the ODI loss at ZIMBOKs.

But, it's time to look forward - may be Amir; which, I am sure, PCB will do after 2023 WC, when Amir as a fast bowler will be well into his 30s..........

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Shoaib Malik has time and time again proven himself to be one of the most shrewd players from Pakistan.

Should selectors force him to become captain and make him use his natural talent on the field?

As a batsman, he won't click much in tournaments or against pacers but as a captain, he is definitely a step up from Azhar the ODI captain.

Pakistan needs a real captain and leader at this crucial juncture.

He has a lot of foresight which Pakistan could use.

Horrible idea! He has abruptly resigned from captaincy a couple of times including recently during the PSL. Clearly he doesn't have the temperament to captain.

 

[Hasan123]

The ship has sailed past - he was the best man after Misbah till 2017 TC; but not now. He is still smart, but on his last leg - luckily for him, he is likely to miss 2/3 ODIs in AUS; otherwise you could have seen that. Now, Aussies might rest Starc/Josh from 4th ODI.

I can bet that, he won't have allowed that 0-3 in BD such haplessly, neither losing 2 ODI against this SRL side (that too once defending 290 under lights at Palekelle & once allowing 370 .....) or would have allowed Poms to win 6 of the 7 LOs in UAE - not to mention the ODI loss at ZIMBOKs.

But, it's time to look forward - may be Amir; which, I am sure, PCB will do after 2023 WC, when Amir as a fast bowler will be well into his 30s..........

Why are you so adamant that Malik would have been a success as captain? He's a poor player of pace, if he's so street smart he would have found a way to overcome this weakness.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

What?

He himself doesn't even wanna be the captain.

he wanted to post 2015 CWC, but WAQAR and MISBAH brought AZHAR.... MALIK wouldn't have lost 3-0 to bangladesh was a perfect time for him to feast on the banglas.. but one thing was he wouldnt have let waqar to discard AS and UA instead would have tried to get the best from them... he can still be forced to accept and he will take it for the WI one, for that matter both hafeez and azhar should fail as both LOI captain and batsman which is very much likely...Let's see..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Why are you so adamant that Malik would have been a success as captain? He's a poor player of pace, if he's so street smart he would have found a way to overcome this weakness.

malik turned into a batsman from being a no.11 under WOOLMER's tutelage...

 

[Hasan123]

malik turned into a batsman from being a no.11 under WOOLMER's tutelage...

Okay , but want MMHS to answer.

I think Malik could have been a solid captain for Pakistan but [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] rates him really highly.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Okay , but want MMHS to answer.

I think Malik could have been a solid captain for Pakistan but [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] rates him really highly.

MYK and Butt are the only players voiced as future potential captains by WOOLMER and we can see how shrewd they were... malik is also on par with them... had MISBAH's scoop shot passed sreesanth MALIK would have continued captain for so long in LOIs.... He is only player who learned well the art of chasing from INZI and WOOLMER....

 

[MMHS]

Why are you so adamant that Malik would have been a success as captain? He's a poor player of pace, if he's so street smart he would have found a way to overcome this weakness.

For ODI, he makes the team on batting merit - we have seen enough of PAK batting by this time not to expand on this. Problem is, people judges him on hypothetical possible most adverse condition & perceived struggle - so, his ENG/NZ stats stands on face value, but SAF stats comes with footnote regarding condition/opposition/wind, grass, water, sun light .... A player should be given his best chance to succeed, without costing team interest - there is no point discussing Malik's batting at 3 or in ENG or against fast bowling. As a player, he is one of the fittest, among the best runners, spin players & he comes with good cricket sense that helps the team. Along with his bowling - he qualifies the first hurdle of Captaincy - he makes the LO team on players' merit; which is not true for Azhar.

Would he been successful as Captain in terms of W/L - I don't know. To a certain extent, a Captain is as good as his team, but not other way is always necessarily true. But, there is stats beyond direct W/L, for which, I can back him to do better - take random matches under Azhar; almost every time, teams have got out of jail - be it batting first or second, which can't be coincidence. Check bowling charts - you'll see glaring misses in utilizing key bowler's quota in any particular match - for example, last match, after Maxi got out; Aussie WK, who happens to be a lefti, added 100 with 3 tail-enders, one of them also being lefti - and MoHa was under bowled 3 overs ...... one of many, many such I can list.

This is a poor PAK side, even Imran won't have achieved much; but I back Malik to do better than the 3rd ODI against Poms in UAE, the Pallekelle one, the 1st ODI against BD, the 1st ODI against NZ - these are perfect examples, how you allow a side to get out of jail from back on mat.

On tactical terms, Malik is among very few PAK players in recent times, who has played in Global leagues - BBL, CPL, PSL, BPL ..... with global top talents & under Professional set-up/Captains - he has to be better than anyone whose field is Inter Department List A & level is Kamran Akmal - the Wapda Captain.

 

[Hasan123]

MYK and Butt are the only players voiced as future potential captains by WOOLMER and we can see how shrewd they were... malik is also on par with them... had MISBAH's scoop shot passed sreesanth MALIK would have continued captain for so long in LOIs.... He is only player who learned well the art of chasing from INZI and WOOLMER....

Malik definitely should have been given a bit more time as captain in LO

 

[Hasan123]

For ODI, he makes the team on batting merit - we have seen enough of PAK batting by this time not to expand on this. Problem is, people judges him on hypothetical possible most adverse condition & perceived struggle - so, his ENG/NZ stats stands on face value, but SAF stats comes with footnote regarding condition/opposition/wind, grass, water, sun light .... A player should be given his best chance to succeed, without costing team interest - there is no point discussing Malik's batting at 3 or in ENG or against fast bowling. As a player, he is one of the fittest, among the best runners, spin players & he comes with good cricket sense that helps the team. Along with his bowling - he qualifies the first hurdle of Captaincy - he makes the LO team on players' merit; which is not true for Azhar.

Would he been successful as Captain in terms of W/L - I don't know. To a certain extent, a Captain is as good as his team, but not other way is always necessarily true. But, there is stats beyond direct W/L, for which, I can back him to do better - take random matches under Azhar; almost every time, teams have got out of jail - be it batting first or second, which can't be coincidence. Check bowling charts - you'll see glaring misses in utilizing key bowler's quota in any particular match - for example, last match, after Maxi got out; Aussie WK, who happens to be a lefti, added 100 with 3 tail-enders, one of them also being lefti - and MoHa was under bowled 3 overs ...... one of many, many such I can list.

This is a poor PAK side, even Imran won't have achieved much; but I back Malik to do better than the 3rd ODI against Poms in UAE, the Pallekelle one, the 1st ODI against BD, the 1st ODI against NZ - these are perfect examples, how you allow a side to get out of jail from back on mat.

On tactical terms, Malik is among very few PAK players in recent times, who has played in Global leagues - BBL, CPL, PSL, BPL ..... with global top talents & under Professional set-up/Captains - he has to be better than anyone whose field is Inter Department List A & level is Kamran Akmal - the Wapda Captain.

He should have got more time as LO captain.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

I'll be happy with anyone but Azhar.

 

[ads101]

Malik doesn't want to be captain, plus no guarantee he will play next world cup, he has just cemented back his spot over last year/year and a half or so and he is on the older side. Better to just play as a player, think even he realises this.

Sarfraz is the choice that stands out, and personally I feel LOI should have the same captains T20 and ODI. Atm we're being captained by a guy who can't play T20s. Azhar should become test captain instead.

 

[Abdullah]

im getting the feeling he doesnt want to be part of this odi series...
with the captaincy in mind

 

[MMHS]

He should have got more time as LO captain.

He & PCB both made blunders - they made him Captain for both Test & ODI, but he was never an automatic choice in Test team. That team had about 8/9 senior players, most of them coming from larger metros, and they knew that without them, Malik won't be able to run the Test team.

Malik's mistake was that he became too greedy & tried to hold on to his post by creating own groups - KAkmal & few others. What he should have done is not to accept Test captaincy, rather play as team member & focus on his ODI/T2o team - could have led PAK in 3 WCs.

 

[Hasan123]

He & PCB both made blunders - they made him Captain for both Test & ODI, but he was never an automatic choice in Test team. That team had about 8/9 senior players, most of them coming from larger metros, and they knew that without them, Malik won't be able to run the Test team.

Malik's mistake was that he became too greedy & tried to hold on to his post by creating own groups - KAkmal & few others. What he should have done is not to accept Test captaincy, rather play as team member & focus on his ODI/T2o team - could have led PAK in 3 WCs.

He was never good in tests, don't know why he got so many chances in that format.

2011,2015,and 2019 World Cup I assume your talking about.

 

[MMHS]

He was never good in tests, don't know why he got so many chances in that format.

2011,2015,and 2019 World Cup I assume your talking about.

At least till CT 2017.

 

[Black Zero]

Shoaib Malik is not interested in Captaincy for several right reasons.

Plus, he wants to retire with dignity as he retired from tests and this is much easier and straigh forward decision, if you are not captain.

 

[ahmadharis1]

I'm saying this as a huge Malik fan, he should not be captain. That time is past

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Malik is the king of cat and mouse games.

Pak selectors play games which ends up consuming players who are not smart enough.

But Malik is known to have made decisions that not only saved his place in the team but also got him good recognition.

Dude knows when to attack, when to defend, when to go invisible, when to come out roaring.

Just needs to use that on the field.

Anyways, looks like it won't happen.

 

[msb314]

He & PCB both made blunders - they made him Captain for both Test & ODI, but he was never an automatic choice in Test team. That team had about 8/9 senior players, most of them coming from larger metros, and they knew that without them, Malik won't be able to run the Test team.

Malik's mistake was that he became too greedy & tried to hold on to his post by creating own groups - KAkmal & few others. What he should have done is not to accept Test captaincy, rather play as team member & focus on his ODI/T2o team - could have led PAK in 3 WCs.

What I do not understand is that Malik was only Test captain for one series - yes one series from April 2007 to January 2009 and that series was the tour of India in November 2007 which we lost 1-0. Yes - he made mistakes including letting Ganguly and Yuvraj get away with a 300+ partnership after having them at 66/4 in the 3rd Test but it was incredibly harsh to judge him on that one Test series.

Most of his "grouping" accusations actually came much later when YK was captain during the fall of 2009 i.e. during the 2009 CT and the ODI series against NZ. How much of that was true - we will never know but Malik got hard done by IMO.

We were a strong ODi team under Malik's reign. Comprehensively beat SL during his first assignment as captain and reached the 2007 World T20 final. I thought we competed well in the 3-2 loss to India in 2007 and had a great 12 match winning run in 2008 albeit against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh as well as winning ODI series against WI and the Kitply Cup.

We had one bad game against SL in January 2009 which led to his ouster as captain but the team was doing well during that time.

Malik should have gotten much more time as captain IMO...

 

[waleed88]

Malik is the king of cat and mouse games.

Pak selectors play games which ends up consuming players who are not smart enough.

But Malik is known to have made decisions that not only saved his place in the team but also got him good recognition.

Dude knows when to attack, when to defend, when to go invisible, when to come out roaring.

Just needs to use that on the field.

Anyways, looks like it won't happen.

He's the master of convenience for himself

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

He's the master of convenience for himself

Ask him to use those skills for Pakistan.

 

[salman24]

Malik is good but I'm liking the way Hafeez has come out today

 

[adzzy786]

No, no, Never!

 

[aukhan]

Anyone who is not named Azhar Ali.

Sohail Tanvir bhi chalega. Malik toh bhage ga.

 

[super hitter]

He's the master of convenience for himself

ironic

 

[Arham_PakFan]

His ship has sailed.Should have been kept as captain back then but he's too old now.

 

[Saj]

I thought his innings today was excellent.

He saw that Asad was struggling so made sure that he scored quickly and attacked and kept the scoreboard ticking over. Made sure he saw the team home also at the end.

Quality knock.

 

[moghul]

Look and move forward, not backward. Look beyond Malik, Hafeez, Misbah and co. Look at the captains of other teams and learn why they are moving towards younger captains.

 

[Seamer]

Sarfaraz should be captain with Imad Wasim as VC