The changing captain merry-go-round - but how does that solve the underlying problem of picking the right squad?

[MenInG]

Azhar Ali replaced
Sarfaraz Ahmed replaced
Babar Azam replaced (and reappointed)
Shan Masood ... could well be replaced.

We seem to be good at something it seems, i.e., replacing captains but why are results the same?

To me, the actual issue is the selection of squads, because that is where the problem starts.

if the selection committee itself is changed every season, then how can we have consistency in selections?

Can we have a bunch of selectors who using all their experience and knowhow will go against the grain and choose a squad which does not have the complete buy-in from the captain?

Or will they simply get the captain/coach the team that they like?

Who and how will we fix this?

 

[Rana]

Babar Azam should not be in this discussion

He had a more than fair run

 

[AAli98]

Country’s in the brink 5k people a day applying to leave the country. Even wiling to relocate to Lanka Bangladesh. PCB run by a crook cricket is not a priority no law & order.

King badmaash Baba & Shaheen know they can get away with anything no accountability dragging PCT in the dirt by the hour.

 

[pratiktc]

No matter who captain is, first main issue is with fitness and skills of current squad.

If the team management is not having confidence that 3 pacers can bowl without getting injured throughout test match (i.e. 35-45 ovs each) then they cannot even start thinking about tactical selections or plans.

 

[Misia]

Rip the book up burn it and start fresh with a young fresh young generation of players, yes you will struggle for a few years gets smashed from piler to post but in the in the long-term Pakistan's, cricket will be better for it.

 

[MenInG]

Babar Azam should not be in this discussion

He had a more than fair run

Fine so you remove Babar as captain from the squad, we still don't have guarantee of a win, do we? What happens then?

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Azhar Ali replaced
Sarfaraz Ahmed replaced
Babar Azam replaced (and reappointed)
Shan Masood ... could well be replaced.

We seem to be good at something it seems, i.e., replacing captains but why are results the same?

To me, the actual issue is the selection of squads, because that is where the problem starts.

if the selection committee itself is changed every season, then how can we have consistency in selections?

Can we have a bunch of selectors who using all their experience and knowhow will go against the grain and choose a squad which does not have the complete buy-in from the captain?

Or will they simply get the captain/coach the team that they like?

Who and how will we fix this?

Shaheen should also be on the list.

A captain is the main man on a cricket pitch therefore it is vital to have stability at the leadership level.

Right now the best choice for Captaincy for the Test and ODI side is Riz.

Selectors change constantly because the PCB is not an independent sporting organisation and not free of government interference like the ECB and ACB.

You cant be successful on the pitch without quality people running an organisation or sporting entity who will make smart decisions for the welfare of the players, staff and cricket board and not for personal gain.

We need to get rid of these Parchis once and for all.

Pace bowlers who bowl above 140 ks needs to be the benchmark for selection unless another Muhammad Asif comes along who is the exception.

 

[Major]

Country’s in the brink 5k people a day applying to leave the country. Even wiling to relocate to Lanka Bangladesh. PCB run by a crook cricket is not a priority no law & order.

King badmaash Baba & Shaheen know they can get away with anything no accountability dragging PCT in the dirt by the hour.

Who is willing to relocate to lanka and bangladesh?

 

[mominsaigol]

Country’s in the brink 5k people a day applying to leave the country. Even wiling to relocate to Lanka Bangladesh. PCB run by a crook cricket is not a priority no law & order.

King badmaash Baba & Shaheen know they can get away with anything no accountability dragging PCT in the dirt by the hour.

No one is willing to relocate to Sri lanka and Bangladesh lol.

It's all UK, USA, Canada, Australia and then comes the rest of Europe and occasionally other parts of Asia.

 

[FearlessRoar]

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi in a media interaction at the Gaddafi Stadium:

“The decision regarding captaincy will be made after consultation with the coaches, mentors and selection committee.”

“A workshop is scheduled for September 22, where everyone will be invited to give their suggestions, and decisions will be made afterwards.”

“I know that if there is any mistake, it falls on me. If the team does not perform well, if there is a selection mistake, or if the coach loses, it will all reflect on me.”

 

[jnaveen1980]

When you transition you identify a core group of players and stick with them. Let them gel as much as possible. Even mediocre players can feed off each other when they gel as a team.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Well things change initially for every captain since Azhar's removal but Shan has been an exception.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

We need to start fresh with a half of the team consisting of U21 players , have Babar , Rizwan ,Shaheen , Naseem and Saud Shakeel to support the younger generation and give as many youth players number of chances and see who belongs to International level and who is not and even if we have to discard 7/8 players in the process so be it but this is the only way forward

Players like Irfan Niazi , Haseebullah, Azan Awais , Shamyl, Saad Baig ,Riazullah , Ahmed Hussain , Mehran , Arish Ali , Sufyan , Ubaid , Ali Raza ,Shahwaz , Basit Ali Jahandad Khan Imran Khan , and Muhammad Zeeshan ,should all get chances and see who can cement his place and who doesn’t.

 

[indianpanacea]

Pakistan has potential, good players but need to adopt horses for courses strategy. I mean dont select somebody with a good performance in t20 in test squad, which of late has been the trend. Let u play this team and c the result
1) Shaan Masood
2) Abdullah shafiq
3) saud shakeel
4) Babar
5) Kamran Ghulam
6) Haider Ali
7) M. Riwan
8) shahdab
9) Amir jamal
10) shaheen
11) Naseem
Reserves
12) Arafat Minhas
13) omair bin yusuf
14) Tayyab Tahir
15) M. Hamza

 

[TeymurBlake]

Captains need time to build consistency as well as chemistry with players specially core group of players.

Their are a serious lack of leaders in the cricket team as well as domestic cricket.

However the awaam as well as Pakistan media usually don't allow patience.

Their is a lack of long-term thinking in PCB but also selflessness, good thinking and dedication.

For many in the PCB, cricket is just fun & simple.

 

[TheSultan]

Rip the book up burn it and start fresh with a young fresh young generation of players, yes you will struggle for a few years gets smashed from piler to post but in the in the long-term Pakistan's, cricket will be better for it.

This is the answer

 

[FearlessRoar]

‘Pakistan captaincy issues not on Connection Camp agenda​

The future of Pakistan captains Babar Azam and Shan Masood will not be a point of discussion during the forthcoming Connection Camp — a meet planned by the country’s cricket board in order to brainstorm solutions amid the team’s recent downfall — an official of the body told Dawn on Sunday.

The event, scheduled for Sept.23, in fact, will be mainly aimed at reviewing the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) policies rather than the national team’s issues, and will be attended by Pakistan’s respective white-ball and Test coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie as well as the mentors of the recently-introduced five Champions Cup sides among other officials.

Their recent historic 2-0 Test whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh under Shan’s captaincy became the latest blow in Pakistan’s disastrous run since the last 12 months, which has seen the team go down against the likes of Afghanistan and the United States in the 50-over and T20 World Cup tournaments, respectively with Babar as white-ball skipper.

The series of shocking results has put the PCB under fire, with criticism being directed at the board from all quarters. That the Connection Camp’s participants are the board’s employees, it may keep them from discussing the prevailing issues from an independent point of view, also given that most of them had held positions in the PCB in the last three to four years, a source told Dawn.

“There have been a number of changes in the team’s captaincy in the past few months, also affecting the team’s unity, which is why the issue will not be discussed [during the Connection Camp],” the PCB official, on the basis of anonymity said.

The official argued why PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had invited the same people in the event who has been in and around the system during the last three years, the period, as he had admitted in a press conference on Saturday, which saw the team crumble.

“Why has he gathered around the likes of Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Saqlain Mushtaq and Khurram Niazi — as the domestic cricket head? the official enquired. “All of them had held positions in the last three years.”

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Connection Camp will be attended by Mohsin and around a dozen centrally and domestic contracted players as well as PCB’s executive team.

“Vision of the Connection Camp is to discuss and agree what type of cricket do we want to play, what type of culture do we want to create and operate in, and what do we want to be perceived as by fans, peers,” the PCB official said, hoping the exercise will reap benefits.

“Through the Connection Camp, the PCB will be aiming to achieve successful outcomes, including alignment around a unified vision and

shared purpose, enhance communications and trust and develop commitment to accountability while also strengthening team cohesion.“

‘Pakistan captaincy issues not on Connection Camp agenda’

"There have been a number of changes in the team’s captaincy [...] affecting the team’s unity [...] the issue will not be discussed," says PCB official.

www.dawn.com

 

[mominsaigol]

This is the answer

It is the answer if it's executed properly. Otherwise you'll get a next generation Babar or rizwan down the line.

Babar is not a bad batter, scoring 3 back to back centuries on 2 occasions regardless of opposition is extremely impressive. His NZ 100 and his innings against India in 2021 and his 197 are great innings.

The problem was that Babar was always just a very good accumulator and he should have remained that way.

Ramiz filled up his ego and hence Babar tried to become something he's not, and when he got exposed for it, coupled with the captaincy pressure and the roti fitness culture where his fitness dropped he became a done case.

Getting a totally new team only to have ramiz raja or Misbah latch onto them will yield the same results.

You need to give the new lot to someone like sarfraz as a mentor so he can take care of the new lot. Better to give youngsters to a leader who's been doing it since 2007 rather then a failure who couldn't even make it to the 2000 team, bottled 2007 to 2011 and was a fake pretender of a captain for only 4 years.

And even if you argue misbah is a goat, Misbah has like 4 years of experience lol, and Babar has like 5 and they didn't even learn anything in that time period.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

You can change captains and coaches all you want. If the team is rubbish and simply doesn't have the skills, fitness and mental toughness to compete at the highest level, nothing will change.

A complete reboot with new players as certain posters are suggesting is perhaps the worst idea of all. Because those players are lacking even more when it comes to skills, fitness and mental toughness.

These problems are deep-rooted in Pakistan's system. And there seems to be no serious attempt to address them, let alone rectify them. If Pakistan's cricket was actually run by people who understood cricket, maybe things would be different. But the powers that be only seem to be interested in cosmetic changes: changing captain/coach, organizing even more domestic tournaments, preventing players from playing T20 leagues.

 

[TheSultan]

You can change captains and coaches all you want. If the team is rubbish and simply doesn't have the skills, fitness and mental toughness to compete at the highest level, nothing will change.

A complete reboot with new players as certain posters are suggesting is perhaps the worst idea of all. Because those players are lacking even more when it comes to skills, fitness and mental toughness.

These problems are deep-rooted in Pakistan's system. And there seems to be no serious attempt to address them, let alone rectify them. If Pakistan's cricket was actually run by people who understood cricket, maybe things would be different. But the powers that be only seem to be interested in cosmetic changes: changing captain/coach, organizing even more domestic tournaments, preventing players from playing T20 leagues.

A reboot is never a great idea. However, what other way is there to get the so-called first choice squad to learn anything. And moreover, some of them don’t even deserve to be playing in the first place.

Harshness is the need of the hour. I’m tired of these players gaming the system with their selfishness. Doing the bare minimum, playing silly games, and getting away with it. All they care about is keeping their place in the team. They are relying on people saying “we don’t need knee-jerk reactions”, “reboot is a bad idea”.

Sure, if they learn their lesson and score heavily in domestic, they can force their way back in. The door should never be closed. But a lot of our entitled players need to earn their caps again.

 

[mominsaigol]

A reboot is never a great idea. However, what other way is there to get the so-called first choice squad to learn anything. And moreover, some of them don’t even deserve to be playing in the first place.

Harshness is the need of the hour. I’m tired of these players gaming the system with their selfishness. Doing the bare minimum, playing silly games, and getting away with it. All they care about is keeping their place in the team. They are relying on people saying “we don’t need knee-jerk reactions”, “reboot is a bad idea”.

Sure, if they learn their lesson and score heavily in domestic, they can force their way back in. The door should never be closed. But a lot of our entitled players need to earn their caps again.

Their ignoring that reboot in 2017 worked like a charm.

By getting rid of shehzad's, Misbah's, Umar Akmal's as well as getting rid of the captains.

These guys should question why the team was strong and how the inclusion of Misbah crashed it into the ground

 

[gibsyhesperis]

You can change captains and coaches all you want. If the team is rubbish and simply doesn't have the skills, fitness and mental toughness to compete at the highest level, nothing will change.

A complete reboot with new players as certain posters are suggesting is perhaps the worst idea of all. Because those players are lacking even more when it comes to skills, fitness and mental toughness.

These problems are deep-rooted in Pakistan's system. And there seems to be no serious attempt to address them, let alone rectify them. If Pakistan's cricket was actually run by people who understood cricket, maybe things would be different. But the powers that be only seem to be interested in cosmetic changes: changing captain/coach, organizing even more domestic tournaments, preventing players from playing T20 leagues.

This is fair.
Fundamentally the system is broken — each new PM appoints some supporter as PCB Chair who feels they have to do something different to justify their position - new selection committee, new structures, new tournaments etc
Goes around and around in circles.

Pakistan. cricket is the laughing stock of the world now with Wisden writing about how odd it all has become.

It’s easy and simplistic to blame individual players — they are products and victims of the system. They look after themselves because no one else will and they can’t rely on the system for even the basic things like appropriate medical rehabilitation.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

A reboot is never a great idea. However, what other way is there to get the so-called first choice squad to learn anything. And moreover, some of them don’t even deserve to be playing in the first place.

Harshness is the need of the hour. I’m tired of these players gaming the system with their selfishness. Doing the bare minimum, playing silly games, and getting away with it. All they care about is keeping their place in the team. They are relying on people saying “we don’t need knee-jerk reactions”, “reboot is a bad idea”.

Sure, if they learn their lesson and score heavily in domestic, they can force their way back in. The door should never be closed. But a lot of our entitled players need to earn their caps again.

Your response is an emotional one, not a rational one. I understand that this is an all-time low for Pakistan. But taking our cricket 10 years back is not really the answer. It's only going to make things worse. If you're losing test matches to Bangladesh right now, I can ensure you we will be losing to Zimbabwe and Ireland once this happens.

Pakistan's team is a reflection of the talent and ability of this country. Whether people want to admit it or not, these are (more or less) our best players. And the players coming through, are coming through the same system that the current lot came through. So there is absolutely no guarantee that they will be any better (if not worse) than the current players.

The questions we should be asking is why there is no consistency in domestic pitches season to season? Why there are a plethora of domestic competitions? Why are we so poor at managing express pacers? that all we have now are ineffective medium pacers. Why aren't there more A tours?

 

[FearlessRoar]

As per reports:

Pakistan coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie have requested the Pakistan Cricket Board not to sack skippers in haste and instead give them a longer run to produce results.

Kirsten and Gillespie want continuity in leadership and have conveyed this to the board. The board is set to conduct a workshop among all stakeholders of Pakistan cricket to hear their views and bridge the gap between domestic cricket and international cricket standards.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

This is fair.
Fundamentally the system is broken — each new PM appoints some supporter as PCB Chair who feels they have to do something different to justify their position - new selection committee, new structures, new tournaments etc
Goes around and around in circles.

Pakistan. cricket is the laughing stock of the world now with Wisden writing about how odd it all has become.

It’s easy and simplistic to blame individual players — they are products and victims of the system. They look after themselves because no one else will and they can’t rely on the system for even the basic things like appropriate medical rehabilitation.

Players do deserve blame for the shambolic performance they gave in this series. But where Pakistan is as a team today has more to do with the system, for sure. The unfortunate reality is that I don't see things changing. This merry go round that you mentioned has been going on for years now. Once Naqvi is gone, I am sure some other clueless PM appointee will take the reins and be just as clueless at running our cricket. Political interference in cricket happens in every South Asian country. But in a country like India, they atleast have strong associations and competent administrators below the figurehead who are empowered to do their jobs. In Pakistan, the structure is so weak and prone to change, that nothing and no one is allowed to settle. Everything is in a constant state of flux.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

As per reports:

Pakistan coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie have requested the Pakistan Cricket Board not to sack skippers in haste and instead give them a longer run to produce results.

Kirsten and Gillespie want continuity in leadership and have conveyed this to the board. The board is set to conduct a workshop among all stakeholders of Pakistan cricket to hear their views and bridge the gap between domestic cricket and international cricket standards.

I feel bad for Gillespie and Kirsten. This job is going to leave quite a stain on their coaching resume.

 

[TheSultan]

Your response is an emotional one, not a rational one. I understand that this is an all-time low for Pakistan. But taking our cricket 10 years back is not really the answer. It's only going to make things worse. If you're losing test matches to Bangladesh right now, I can ensure you we will be losing to Zimbabwe and Ireland once this happens.

Pakistan's team is a reflection of the talent and ability of this country. Whether people want to admit it or not, these are (more or less) our best players. And the players coming through, are coming through the same system that the current lot came through. So there is absolutely no guarantee that they will be any better (if not worse) than the current players.

The questions we should be asking is why there is no consistency in domestic pitches season to season? Why there are a plethora of domestic competitions? Why are we so poor at managing express pacers? that all we have now are ineffective medium pacers. Why aren't there more A tours?

It’s not emotional at all. These players are not good enough - yea sure babar may have more ability that some of the domestic players, but he definitely isn’t performing to any standard at the moment. Neither is anyone else. They won’t work on their game unless you show them poor performances have consequences.

Even if the others aren’t good enough, it doesn’t matter - they deserve their chance. The status quo has failed over and over again.

In fact it is more emotional to cling on to your favourites in the hope they improve out of this air

 

[mominsaigol]

It’s not emotional at all. These players are not good enough - yea sure babar may have more ability that some of the domestic players, but he definitely isn’t performing to any standard at the moment. Neither is anyone else. They won’t work on their game unless you show them poor performances have consequences.

Even if the others aren’t good enough, it doesn’t matter - they deserve their chance. The status quo has failed over and over again.

In fact it is more emotional to cling on to your favourites in the hope they improve out of this air

@RedwoodOriginal

What he's trying to say is that current crop isn't performing up to standard so you don't just give up and accept minnow status and say yeah this is the best we can do.

If a player isn't performing then they need to be removed plain and simple and replaced. Pakistan has a flattering culture where the likes of shadab get free rides due to friendship groups.

Travis head use to be mediocre and was dropped, He became the best by improving because he knows for a fact that CA will drop him and give him the boot the moment they believe their 2 better openers waiting on the bench, so Travis is forced to improve and be the best knowing full well that CA at the end of the day just view him as a number.

The current crop isn't performing and their not in the mood to improve. Simply axe everyone who isn't performing and bring replacements like Ghulam > Babar, Hurraira > Abdullah, Sarfraz > Shan and various under 19 players to replace the rest like chacha, Shadab etc etc.

If these players perform then awesome, however if they don't, then Babar will be pressured to work on fitness and improve because now he knows he is not untouchable and can be axed in a heartbeat if he isn't the best.

Case in point, Babar is not performing so axe him, once Babar improves and becomes better then the guy who replaced him, bring bobby back.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

I feel bad for Gillespie and Kirsten. This job is going to leave quite a stain on their coaching resume.

I feel the same.. they are backing 2 wrong captains... Babar such a stubborn individual will not say yes to anything what Kirsten brings in, he would still keep backing his friends and play them forever..

Shan on the other hand is stuck with his own performance, he should take the example of Shanto and Dhananjaya though their forms are not there speak of but lead team well , made right selections, win series and test matches abroad..

More to say Shan with lack of cricketing skills in terms of batting , should have the IQ of an educated person to find his way through to lead the side with knowledge , plan and execution but doesn't seem to be interested and happy with county contracts tbh.. 'Looks like a fool when Sarfraz wants a mid on to be placed and say upto u kaptaan , he refused and put 2 men in catching position including himself but Shanto hammered the ball to 4 where Sarfraz ask for a fieldsman to be placed... Shows with his english knowledge cannot lead the side , instead need cricketing knowledge which Sarfraz brings in as a senior pro....

Thank Misbah for removing Sarfraz as captain..

 

[TheSultan]

@RedwoodOriginal

What he's trying to say is that current crop isn't performing up to standard so you don't just give up and accept minnow status and say yeah this is the best we can do.

If a player isn't performing then they need to be removed plain and simple and replaced. Pakistan has a flattering culture where the likes of shadab get free rides due to friendship groups.

Travis head use to be mediocre and was dropped, He became the best by improving because he knows for a fact that CA will drop him and give him the boot the moment they believe their 2 better openers waiting on the bench, so Travis is forced to improve and be the best knowing full well that CA at the end of the day just view him as a number.

The current crop isn't performing and their not in the mood to improve. Simply axe everyone who isn't performing and bring replacements like Ghulam > Babar, Hurraira > Abdullah, Sarfraz > Shan and various under 19 players to replace the rest like chacha, Shadab etc etc.

If these players perform then awesome, however if they don't, then Babar will be pressured to work on fitness and improve because now he knows he is not untouchable and can be axed in a heartbeat if he isn't the best.

Case in point, Babar is not performing so axe him, once Babar improves and becomes better then the guy who replaced him, bring bobby back.

Exactly right.

People seem to think we want these guys to fail. I want babar to succeed. If babar performs exceptionally, why would I have a problem with that? He’s a Pakistani player after all. But there is something fundamentally wrong with him over the best part of the last 3 years. Feeding his ego hasn’t worked. So let’s stop hoping he gets better just like that. He needs to be dropped. He needs the shame of being dropped to drive him. If he takes it personally, and loses interest and gives up then it’s even more justification to drop him. I don’t weak minded players like that.

The above is an example but it applies to every player

 

[ask_analyse_act]

@RedwoodOriginal

What he's trying to say is that current crop isn't performing up to standard so you don't just give up and accept minnow status and say yeah this is the best we can do.

If a player isn't performing then they need to be removed plain and simple and replaced. Pakistan has a flattering culture where the likes of shadab get free rides due to friendship groups.

Travis head use to be mediocre and was dropped, He became the best by improving because he knows for a fact that CA will drop him and give him the boot the moment they believe their 2 better openers waiting on the bench, so Travis is forced to improve and be the best knowing full well that CA at the end of the day just view him as a number.

The current crop isn't performing and their not in the mood to improve. Simply axe everyone who isn't performing and bring replacements like Ghulam > Babar, Hurraira > Abdullah, Sarfraz > Shan and various under 19 players to replace the rest like chacha, Shadab etc etc.

If these players perform then awesome, however if they don't, then Babar will be pressured to work on fitness and improve because now he knows he is not untouchable and can be axed in a heartbeat if he isn't the best.

Case in point, Babar is not performing so axe him, once Babar improves and becomes better then the guy who replaced him, bring bobby back.

agree but the problem is they go in a circle... Hurraira and Ghulam will show promise initially and then breaks down into pieces just like how the seniors did when they were found out.. The best batsman ever produced after Inzi , Yousuf era was Babar and he struggles to find form 16 test inns, and also at home against Bangladesh who were ranked below pak couldnt score runs is the picture to see what others would be made of from this pak domestic structure......

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Exactly right.

People seem to think we want these guys to fail. I want babar to succeed. If babar performs exceptionally, why would I have a problem with that? He’s a Pakistani player after all. But there is something fundamentally wrong with him over the best part of the last 3 years. Feeding his ego hasn’t worked. So let’s stop hoping he gets better just like that. He needs to be dropped. He needs the shame of being dropped to drive him. If he takes it personally, and loses interest and gives up then it’s even more justification to drop him. I don’t weak minded players like that.

The above is an example but it applies to every player

yes drop him for the imp series against england , sure they gonna lose if drop him or not... then his place will get justified for another player if his replacement did a good job..

 

[mominsaigol]

agree but the problem is they go in a circle... Hurraira and Ghulam will show promise initially and then breaks down into pieces just like how the seniors did when they were found out.. The best batsman ever produced after Inzi , Yousuf era was Babar and he struggles to find form 16 test inns, and also at home against Bangladesh who were ranked below pak couldnt score runs is the picture to see what others would be made of from this pak domestic structure......

They won't go in a circle if the pressure in their mind if to keep being the best.

Travis head is the best because in his mind he knows he can't slip up. Australia is a wealthy and resourceful nation. They'll give him the boot the moment they find 2 better openers.

Hence Travis knows that he can't allow that to happen, He will be the best and their won't be any replacement

Babar has to undergo the same situation. And if he can't accept it and gives up, then well the king was a fraud and was never international mentality

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I feel the same.. they are backing 2 wrong captains... Babar such a stubborn individual will not say yes to anything what Kirsten brings in, he would still keep backing his friends and play them forever..

Shan on the other hand is stuck with his own performance, he should take the example of Shanto and Dhananjaya though their forms are not there speak of but lead team well , made right selections, win series and test matches abroad..

More to say Shan with lack of cricketing skills in terms of batting , should have the IQ of an educated person to find his way through to lead the side with knowledge , plan and execution but doesn't seem to be interested and happy with county contracts tbh.. 'Looks like a fool when Sarfraz wants a mid on to be placed and say upto u kaptaan , he refused and put 2 men in catching position including himself but Shanto hammered the ball to 4 where Sarfraz ask for a fieldsman to be placed... Shows with his english knowledge cannot lead the side , instead need cricketing knowledge which Sarfraz brings in as a senior pro....

Thank Misbah for removing Sarfraz as captain..

Sarfraz was pretty awful as test captain too. You're forgetting that he is the one who ended Pakistan's winning streak in UAE by getting whitewashed by a subpar Sri Lanka side, and then losing a series to New Zealand.

I honestly don't know what it will take to improve Pakistan's test fortunes. The Misbah era feels like some kind of golden period now when you look at the last 7 years. Atleast back then the only thing we had to worry about was SENA. Winning at home practically a given.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Azhar Ali replaced
Sarfaraz Ahmed replaced
Babar Azam replaced (and reappointed)
Shan Masood ... could well be replaced.

We seem to be good at something it seems, i.e., replacing captains but why are results the same?

To me, the actual issue is the selection of squads, because that is where the problem starts.

if the selection committee itself is changed every season, then how can we have consistency in selections?

Can we have a bunch of selectors who using all their experience and knowhow will go against the grain and choose a squad which does not have the complete buy-in from the captain?

Or will they simply get the captain/coach the team that they like?

Who and how will we fix this?

Captaincy problem is part of the squad selection issue. We currently have a captain that does not qualify to be in the squad. Shan has not performed with any consistency through out his career, he is in the squad because he is a captain. The reason why he is failing captain, is his own performance. A captain that does not perform gets no respect from his players. Why would a player (who is doing all the hard work) listen to a captain who does not perform?

In the last 20 years the most stable era was the era of Misbah captaincy, although Misbah had his flaws. Misbah as captain was well respected by his team mates. Why? because Misbah performed with great consistency, Misbah would show up 90% of the time Pakistan was in crisis. Players were united behind Misbah, to Misbah's credit that last quality was key to his success.

Then there is this cricket tradition, that a captain chooses who plays and at which spot, that gives the Captain a lot of power. Misbah made one error when he picked Asad Shafiq Over Fawad Alam, Where Fawad being a far superior test batsman to Asad. But Misbah obviously believed that Asad would become a great batsman which he never did.

Pakistan's bad luck is this we have in Babar a great player and on the performance criteria he qualifies to be the Skipper but his Captaincy has been poor and below par.

The way forward is merit. First and foremost the captain has to be a consistent performer, an automatic selection. After this comes how good of captain he is tactically. (That merit rule alone closes the Shan Masood chapter)

Second, the squad selection has to be on merit, we have to look at who is performing in first class cricket for selections in Tests and ODI. PSL performances cannot be used for all formats particularly Tests.
First class performances for the newbies and for established players their international performance needs to be looked at.
Third, the selection committee needs to question why a captain wants a player to be in the squad if he is not performing.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Kamran Akmal speaking during an interview on a TV show:

"Why they wanted to bring a change now if they did not do that after losing the Asia Cup, ODI World Cup, and T20 World Cup? What difference does it make [by the way]?"

"Is it because the captain is not their favourite, and they want one of their choice? Do you think the new captain will bring Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, or Mitchell Starc into the team to boost its performance? If they do not get their basics right, then such blunders will continue to happen, and replacing captains will make no difference. Everyone, including the captain, coach, and selectors, should set their direction right and reform their thinking."

 

[FearlessRoar]

Speaking during a recent media interaction, Younis Khan said:

"I have no doubts about the intentions of Mohsin Naqvi, but he needs to focus on his team. The PCB often makes sudden decisions, like changing coaches and captains without warning."

"Good leadership isn't about speaking perfect English. The focus should be on nurturing talent and making sure players are prepared to compete against strong opponents."

"If someone isn’t suited for a role, they shouldn’t be there. People in the PCB need to let go of selfishness, and captains shouldn’t be appointed just because they agree with certain people. Decisions should be based on merit, not personal preferences."