Time to sack Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali!

[Minnowbasher]

This is just pathetic now. Mickey and Sarfraz were also rubbish, but to this level idk.
In Australia we showed no fight and were pushovers. Here we have been the same.
The problem is not that our players are mediocre - they are below average yes but the atrocious captaincy and coaching makes us even worse.
Who was the captain when england broke the world record odi score? Azhar Ali
Who was the captain when we embarrassingly lost 3-0 to bangladesh? Azhar Ali
Who was the captain when we lost both tests in Australia by an innings? Azhar Ali

Even Sarfraz was better at preventing opposition batsmen get such huge partnerships and runs. Weve let David Warner and now a nobody Zak Crawley absolutely decimate our bowling attack as if we are minnows!

This is pathetic. Pakistan is a bad team but come on this is a whole new level of pathetic.

 

[saadsahabjee]

Azhar ali will prove his worth in coming years as a captain just give him few more series .

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Awful coach and the worst captain we’ve ever had. And we’ve had a lot of bad captains over the years. No presence or personality

 

[AdamM97]

Azhar has been extremely awful.

Having said that, let’s not just blame Azhar for this. Everyone apart from Rizwan and Yasir have been mediocre or awful this series.

 

[Syed1]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This was the field plan of Pakistan in 11th over on the first day with your wicket taking bowler on. Deep cover, deep leg, deep mid off. This is what happens when tigers are led by a jackal. <a href="https://t.co/sDhMb02Lyg">pic.twitter.com/sDhMb02Lyg</a></p>— عوامی رینــچ (@NaikRooh) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaikRooh/status/1297093331885993987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



Ladies and gents this is the level of our captain acha bacha Azhar under tutelage of Misbah ul baysharam.

 

[Manunited18]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This was the field plan of Pakistan in 11th over on the first day with your wicket taking bowler on. Deep cover, deep leg, deep mid off. This is what happens when tigers are led by a jackal. <a href="https://t.co/sDhMb02Lyg">pic.twitter.com/sDhMb02Lyg</a></p>— عوامی رینــچ (@NaikRooh) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaikRooh/status/1297093331885993987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



Ladies and gents this is the level of our captain acha bacha Azhar under tutelage of Misbah ul baysharam.

Loooooool

 

[AdamM97]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This was the field plan of Pakistan in 11th over on the first day with your wicket taking bowler on. Deep cover, deep leg, deep mid off. This is what happens when tigers are led by a jackal. <a href="https://t.co/sDhMb02Lyg">pic.twitter.com/sDhMb02Lyg</a></p>— عوامی رینــچ (@NaikRooh) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaikRooh/status/1297093331885993987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



Ladies and gents this is the level of our captain acha bacha Azhar under tutelage of Misbah ul baysharam.

His field placement has been so bad this entire series. The slips have been placed so deep this entire series despite the fact that the ball failed to carry to the slips numerous times.

 

[Mir jibran]

Sacking mickey arthur was a disaster
We are the only team in the world who appointed an already failed captain as our test leader

 

[Savak]

Azhar Ali himself chose to resign from the captaincy in 2017 as in his own words he was not good enough for the role and Sarfaraz was the better candidate and Misbah immediately retained him as captain upon taking over and the PCB blindly accepted Misbah's demands

 

[Major]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This was the field plan of Pakistan in 11th over on the first day with your wicket taking bowler on. Deep cover, deep leg, deep mid off. This is what happens when tigers are led by a jackal. <a href="https://t.co/sDhMb02Lyg">pic.twitter.com/sDhMb02Lyg</a></p>— عوامی رینــچ (@NaikRooh) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaikRooh/status/1297093331885993987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



Ladies and gents this is the level of our captain acha bacha Azhar under tutelage of Misbah ul baysharam.

wow

 

[Mir jibran]

Azhar Ali himself chose to resign from the captaincy in 2017 as in his own words he was not good enough for the role and Sarfaraz was the better candidate and Misbah immediately retained him as captain upon taking over and the PCB blindly accepted Misbah's demands

Only Pakistan can do this
I hope these oldies along with misbah and a 3 time failed coach waqar are sacked

 

[Mueez]

Sack these useless players and coaches.

 

[Markhor]

This is deplorable.

We have a failed captain who cannot hold a bat, a coach who's never even coached a club team, a multiple times failed bowling coach, and a batting coach who's one argument away from slicing you up like butter.

What a shambles.

 

[Syed1]

This is deplorable.

We have a failed captain who cannot hold a bat, a coach who's never even coached a club team, a multiple times failed bowling coach, and a batting coach who's one argument away from slicing you up like butter.

What a shambles.

All appointed by your fav boi Wazzy

 

[Shazzam]

I bet you even after this defeat they won’t still be sacked. Our mentality has fallen. Just read Musbah’s own articles.

 

[Hasan123]

How Misbah got the job is mind boggling. How he got the job of selector and batting coaching is confusing. What does the PCB see in Misbah to make him so powerful?

 

[Minnowbasher]

The standard of Pakistan cricket from the 2007 world cup onwards has just been so frustratingly awful. We used to be a top cricketing nation, now the gulf between us and the likes of Australia and India is so massive it seems impossible we will ever surpass them.
Small victories here and there make the PCB feel a false sense of satisfaction enabling them to turn a blind eye to the fact that our cricket is in absolute shambles - the coach is unqualified, the captain is long finished with the bat and is perhaps the worst pakistani captain of all time and the team is full of oldies who either shouldve starting playing ages ago (Abid, Fawad) or shouldve long retired after their decent careers beforehand (azhar, asad).

 

[Minnowbasher]

I bet you even after this defeat they won’t still be sacked. Our mentality has fallen. Just read Musbah’s own articles.

Ofcourse they wont be sacked, that's just PCB for you. Absolutely no professionalism. Had this been india misbah wouldve been sacked after the disgusting Australia tour but I suppose our standards have dropped so low that it's all ok as long as we are beating Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at home.

 

[coy0607]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This was the field plan of Pakistan in 11th over on the first day with your wicket taking bowler on. Deep cover, deep leg, deep mid off. This is what happens when tigers are led by a jackal. <a href="https://t.co/sDhMb02Lyg">pic.twitter.com/sDhMb02Lyg</a></p>— عوامی رینــچ (@NaikRooh) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaikRooh/status/1297093331885993987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



Ladies and gents this is the level of our captain acha bacha Azhar under tutelage of Misbah ul baysharam.

This was perplexing to watch. And it continued throughout, even as bowlers were taking regular wickets (up until over 40)

 

[coy0607]

This is deplorable.

We have a failed captain who cannot hold a bat, a coach who's never even coached a club team, a multiple times failed bowling coach, and a batting coach who's one argument away from slicing you up like butter.

What a shambles.

Can't wait till Azhar and Asad join the coaching ranks

 

[marlonbrowndo]

This is deplorable.

We have a failed captain who cannot hold a bat, a coach who's never even coached a club team, a multiple times failed bowling coach, and a batting coach who's one argument away from slicing you up like butter.

What a shambles.

That last bit

 

[Firebat]

Can't wait till Azhar and Asad join the coaching ranks

10 years time it will be Azhar head coach, Asad as batting coach saying "42 year-old Abid Ali is a match winner for us"

 

[Minnowbasher]

Azhar ali will prove his worth in coming years as a captain just give him few more series .

This is a flawed argument that could be used for anyone. "Just give few more series". Are we gonna wait until azhar is 45 and then remove him from captaincy?

 

[sshakir411]

The Misbah & Waqar combo has always chosen the wrong playing 11 and these guys will never change because they’re hard wired to be one dimensional and dumb.

 

[topspin]

wow

Lol and you're a major baysharam for backing the duo.

 

[saadsahabjee]

Azhar will prove his worth in upcoming series against zimbabve.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Azhar ali will prove his worth in coming years as a captain just give him few more series .

After how many losses and humiliations. At least if he is scoring runs fluently or his captaincy was good enuf or If he is in his 25s then yes. He has played 10 years of test cricket and still plays like a newbie and doesn’t show any sign of aggression and his tactics are appalling.

 

[Mueez]

I wonder how the players will be feeling today.

Koi sharam koi hayaa hoti hai?

 

[ask_analyse_act]

They will never be sacked for the next 2 years , wait for the next humiliation against NZL end of this year. They will go chest thumping beating Zimbabwe at home in the next series.

These players and coaches wi,l be there until Pak go out of this WTC or finish at last.

 

[Wreck_It_Rauf]

The seniority mindset has been crippling the establishment for decades and I don't see it coming to a halt anytime soon.

 

[Cricketrenew]

I predicted this last year.

Another to tour to England and Aus wasted.
Normally the teams looked like they could win.

Now they are just not good enough.

 

[Markhor]

Azhar will prove his worth in upcoming series against zimbabve.

We need his "experience" against a tough opponent. Better call Hafeez and Malik in too for reinforcement.

 

[Titan24]

Wanted to give Misbah time and I think have seen enough in the period. I openly criticized Mickey after CT17 win due to his decision making and I guess honeymoon period of Misbah is over.

Yes winning and loosing is part of the game, also its human to err. However, you cant make errors in every breath you take. From making Azhar the test captain so late in his career when he was in a steep decline to taking Mohammad Irfan, Imran Khan and Mohammad Musa to Aus its been a roller coster ride.

Now again we have seen two extremes in this tour, either everybody in the team is 30+ or under 20. Babar, Imam, Shinwari and Rizwan are only 4 players in selected test squad who are around mid 20s. This is unlike any test squad one will see in test cricket at the moment which is definitely something.

There were literally no plans or tactics on display, I also dont buy the excuse of Mushy that bowlers couldn’t execute. If bowlers are inexperienced and cant apply it on the ground then dont play all of them at once. Its test cricket not some domestic championship where you are going to groom and test players. There are atleast 5-6 bowlers in domestic cricket which I can name who are in their 20s and have enough FC experience behind them to execute the plan easily. Especially in SENA conditions you need some experience atleast at FC level.

Shaheen and Naseem both have potential and everyone can see that but if at the moment they cant execute the plans and are still learning then there is no point in pushing both of them to play together in SENA tests.

When it comes to batting, all I can say is:

30
32
35
34
34

Which other team in international cricket have 5 batsmen in their top 7 of this age group? None.

 

[unemployedgm]

Misbah makes 300000 dollars a year. PCB won’t fire him.

 

[topspin]

Azhar needs to announce his retirement.

Misbah owes Pakistan fans over a hundred apologies for what he's done to Pakistan cricket, ever since he played that innings in Mohali 2011.

Having followed Pakistan cricket for 20 years (since I was a kiddo), there a number of lows I've witnessed from Pakistan such as:

1. 2003 WC group stage exit
2. 2007 WC group stage exit following the loss to Ireland
3. 2010 Spot fixing scandal
4. No home cricket for nearly 10 years

I'm sure there are many more examples but the worst of the lot is the damage that Misbah has inflicted to Pakistan cricket as player, captain and now coach and chief selector. If you're going to oust Mickey in such an undignified manner for your self-interests, at least be competent in your role. Forget about qualifications and lack of experience, he won't do him any good because he has a pathetic cricketing IQ anyway.

I have always maintained that Pakistan cricket would have been in a better place if we axed him from white ball cricket after his Mohali knock and from red ball cricket following the embarrassing result against a minnow Zimbabwe side in 2013.

When he was appointed as Head Coach and Chief Selector, I remember there was a poll put up on the relevant thread and c.80% of the posters (who participated) did not approve of the appointment. I can guarantee that at least 95% now want given the sack.

 

[coy0607]

No. Misbah and Azhar should be given a series vs Zimbabwe, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka to redeem themselves

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Hopefully one of the 6 domestic coaches will replace Misbah within the next year
This will be azhars last series with Rizwan replacing him as captain

 

[unemployedgm]

What about getting suggestions from great players?

 

[Pakpak]

What have we done to deserve this leech? I have a horrible feeling this guy will end up as PCB head one day.

It was a nightmare getting rid of him from our playing side alone.

 

[lahoriyah1234]

Hopefully one of the 6 domestic coaches will replace Misbah within the next year
This will be azhars last series with Rizwan replacing him as captain

Rizwan what special do u see in him. He is a decent batsmen and good wk. Anyone who should replace Azhar Failure should be Babar Azam and no one else.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Rizwan &#55357;&#56834; what special do u see in him. He is a decent batsmen and good wk. Anyone who should replace Azhar Failure should be Babar Azam and no one else.

Babar will get burdened by captaincy and Rizwan is the only other guaranteed starter in this test team.
Very safe pair of hands, I'm sure abid and others will play well under hin

 

[aloo paratha]

Azhar and Shafiq need to go now.

 

[saadsahabjee]

Azhar is backbone of our batting should stay for 5 6 years more.

 

[topspin]

Wanted to give Misbah time and I think have seen enough in the period. I openly criticized Mickey after CT17 win due to his decision making and I guess honeymoon period of Misbah is over.

Yes winning and loosing is part of the game, also its human to err. However, you cant make errors in every breath you take. From making Azhar the test captain so late in his career when he was in a steep decline to taking Mohammad Irfan, Imran Khan and Mohammad Musa to Aus its been a roller coster ride.

Now again we have seen two extremes in this tour, either everybody in the team is 30+ or under 20. Babar, Imam, Shinwari and Rizwan are only 4 players in selected test squad who are around mid 20s. This is unlike any test squad one will see in test cricket at the moment which is definitely something.

There were literally no plans or tactics on display, I also dont buy the excuse of Mushy that bowlers couldn’t execute. If bowlers are inexperienced and cant apply it on the ground then dont play all of them at once. Its test cricket not some domestic championship where you are going to groom and test players. There are atleast 5-6 bowlers in domestic cricket which I can name who are in their 20s and have enough FC experience behind them to execute the plan easily. Especially in SENA conditions you need some experience atleast at FC level.

Shaheen and Naseem both have potential and everyone can see that but if at the moment they cant execute the plans and are still learning then there is no point in pushing both of them to play together in SENA tests.

When it comes to batting, all I can say is:

30
32
35
34
34

Which other team in international cricket have 5 batsmen in their top 7 of this age group? None.

Kudos to you. I mistook you as as man with an agenda of your own but you've shown that you genuinely are a well wisher for Pakistan cricket and open minded which is evident from the fact that you were willing to give Misbah a chance.

 

[lahoriyah1234]

Babar will get burdened by captaincy and Rizwan is the only other guaranteed starter in this test team.
Very safe pair of hands, I'm sure abid and others will play well under hin

You cant have wk Captain in Tests, especially who doesn’t warrant his place permanently yet. Babar Azam and Shadab Khan should be captain and vc Captains in all formats.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Kudos to you. I mistook you as as man with an agenda of your own but you've shown that you genuinely are a well wisher for Pakistan cricket and open minded which is evident from the fact that you were willing to give Misbah a chance.

I'm going to agree with him. His post perfectly summed it up. Misbah needs to be sacked.

 

[topspin]

I'm going to agree with him. His post perfectly summed it up. Misbah needs to be sacked.

Hats off to you as well my friend for not being a blind follower. You simply cannot defend someone who is indefensible.

I use to be a huge fan of Afridi because I grew up watching him play and he was entertaining to watch. In 2014 I was fortunate enough to be awarded a prize from him for naming the best Pakistan XI of all time. The prize was a Pakistan cap signed from the man himself.

But even after all that, one day I finally woke up and realised he didn't deserve all the adulation and his influence wasn't in the best interests of Pakistan cricket because we created a generation of young players who tried to bat like him rather than play proper cricket.

It's important we follow the right examples and unfortunately near all of our notable ex-players are toxic, including Misbah.

 

[Mamoon]

Azhar cuts such a harrowingly uninspiring figure.

A wooden chair has more charisma and personality. He is a like a statue on the field with no presence at all.

You won’t see him marshaling the bowlers and fielders, sledging they batsmen, engaging with the umpires.

From a tactical viewpoint his field placings are bizarre, his bowling changed are random and he takes incredibly dumb reviews. I am waiting for the day a batsman hits the bowler for a six and he calls for a review.

And as far as his batting and presence on the crease is concerned, the less said the better.

The gap between Pakistan and Indian cricket can be summed up by the fact that their captain is Kohli while our captain is Azhar.

There was a time when India had Kapil and Azharuddin while we had Imran bad Wasim. Today, we have Azhar and they have Kohli.

This fact alone sums up how the two countries have gone in completely different directions over the last two decades.

 

[Savak]

Age of the batsmen is not the issue, it's the quality. A 40 plus Sangakarra will look world's apart from our 20 year old batsmen. Azhar Ali could be in his early 20's, he will still look impotent at the wicket

 

[Kaka4pope]

Azhar cuts such a harrowingly uninspiring figure.

A wooden chair has more charisma and personality. He is a like a statue on the field with no presence at all.

You won’t see him marshaling the bowlers and fielders, sledging they batsmen, engaging with the umpires.

From a tactical viewpoint his field placings are bizarre, his bowling changed are random and he takes incredibly dumb reviews. I am waiting for the day a batsman hits the bowler for a six and he calls for a review.

And as far as his batting and presence on the crease is concerned, the less said the better.

The gap between Pakistan and Indian cricket can be summed up by the fact that their captain is Kohli while our captain is Azhar.

There was a time when India had Kapil and Azharuddin while we had Imran bad Wasim. Today, we have Azhar and they have Kohli.

This fact alone sums up how the two countries have gone in completely different directions over the last two decades.

Given the chance, what XI would you pick for our next test? (Not sure whether you would consider Amir or a fit Hassan as viable options), still be good to hear...

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Azhar cuts such a harrowingly uninspiring figure.

A wooden chair has more charisma and personality. He is a like a statue on the field with no presence at all.

You won’t see him marshaling the bowlers and fielders, sledging they batsmen, engaging with the umpires.

From a tactical viewpoint his field placings are bizarre, his bowling changed are random and he takes incredibly dumb reviews. I am waiting for the day a batsman hits the bowler for a six and he calls for a review.

And as far as his batting and presence on the crease is concerned, the less said the better.

The gap between Pakistan and Indian cricket can be summed up by the fact that their captain is Kohli while our captain is Azhar.

There was a time when India had Kapil and Azharuddin while we had Imran bad Wasim. Today, we have Azhar and they have Kohli.

This fact alone sums up how the two countries have gone in completely different directions over the last two decades.

Both Azharuddin and Dev are legends of the game. Azhar Ali, on the other hand, is a joke. Worst captain ever, in history of test cricket.

I believe a random subcontinental 1st class captain would have defended the 1st test match. It is really hard to lose a game the way Azhar lost.

Anyways, Misbah has managed to make Pakistan a minnow. We may win an odd game here and there and expect top 5 visitors to win series in Pakistan/UAE!

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Age of the batsmen is not the issue, it's the quality. A 40 plus Sangakarra will look world's apart from our 20 year old batsmen. Azhar Ali could be in his early 20's, he will still look impotent at the wicket

He used to take shine off the new ball but these days a tailender is better than him.

 

[Savak]

Azhar cuts such a harrowingly uninspiring figure.

A wooden chair has more charisma and personality. He is a like a statue on the field with no presence at all.

You won’t see him marshaling the bowlers and fielders, sledging they batsmen, engaging with the umpires.

From a tactical viewpoint his field placings are bizarre, his bowling changed are random and he takes incredibly dumb reviews. I am waiting for the day a batsman hits the bowler for a six and he calls for a review.

And as far as his batting and presence on the crease is concerned, the less said the better.

The gap between Pakistan and Indian cricket can be summed up by the fact that their captain is Kohli while our captain is Azhar.

There was a time when India had Kapil and Azharuddin while we had Imran bad Wasim. Today, we have Azhar and they have Kohli.

This fact alone sums up how the two countries have gone in completely different directions over the last two decades.

One of the rare [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] posts I wholeheartedly agree with. This is the end result of giving Misbah ul Haq so much power and authority in Pakistan Cricket for the last ten years. Azhar Ali was appointed as captain on his recommendation in 2015 and now in 2019. Any other team would have axed Azhar a long time ago

 

[Mamoon]

Given the chance, what XI would you pick for our next test? (Not sure whether you would consider Amir or a fit Hassan as viable options), still be good to hear...

That’s the problem. I can’t seem to pick any XI that would be remotely good. You throw these players out and the alternatives are going to be equally bad if not worse.

Realistically, you could bring Haris back to shore up the middle-order. Talent wise he is right up there with Babar, but he has no hunger to succeed and is willingly throwing his career away.

I might be tempted to bring Sami Aslam back. Yes he has failed so far, but if he shows a bit of guts he can be far better than talentless Masood and an over the hill Abid.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

That’s the problem. I can’t seem to pick any XI that would be remotely good. You throw these players out and the alternatives are going to be equally bad if not worse.

Realistically, you could bring Haris back to shore up the middle-order. Talent wise he is right up there with Babar, but he has no hunger to succeed and is willingly throwing his career away.

I might be tempted to bring Sami Aslam back. Yes he has failed so far, but if he shows a bit of guts he can be far better than talentless Masood and an over the hill Abid.

Zafar Gohar, Ehsan Adil and maybe saud Shakeel can also help.

 

[Firebat]

Make Babar captain. Make Shan captain. Make Haris captain. Even bring back Sarfaraz as a specialist batsman and captain. Do anything to end this torture. Someone that will discuss plans with the bowler BEFORE the opposition reach 450. Please.

 

[Savak]

That’s the problem. I can’t seem to pick any XI that would be remotely good. You throw these players out and the alternatives are going to be equally bad if not worse.

Realistically, you could bring Haris back to shore up the middle-order. Talent wise he is right up there with Babar, but he has no hunger to succeed and is willingly throwing his career away.

I might be tempted to bring Sami Aslam back. Yes he has failed so far, but if he shows a bit of guts he can be far better than talentless Masood and an over the hill Abid.

Sami Aslam more talented than Shan Masood, Il have what you are smoking. Shan Masood is a massively improved cricketer, but carry on your machine gun hating

 

[topspin]

That’s the problem. I can’t seem to pick any XI that would be remotely good. You throw these players out and the alternatives are going to be equally bad if not worse.

Realistically, you could bring Haris back to shore up the middle-order. Talent wise he is right up there with Babar, but he has no hunger to succeed and is willingly throwing his career away.

I might be tempted to bring Sami Aslam back. Yes he has failed so far, but if he shows a bit of guts he can be far better than talentless Masood and an over the hill Abid.

The same talntless Masood who has averaged 38-40 in Australia, South Africa and now in England. For a poor team like Pakistan that's more than good enough.

If you think the likes of Sami Aslam and Imam are the answers then I should ought to remind you that Sami Aslam couldn't even bat at a strike rate of 40 after 13 tests. His average just scraped over 30 as ell.

As for Imam, the less said the better. I don't need to remind you of how Shan showed him up during the last Australia tour. But to put his case to bed, he averaged 1 in Australia after 2 innings.

If you want Masood gone, at least find some respectable competition.

 

[topspin]

Sami Aslam more talented than Shan Masood, Il have what you are smoking. Shan Masood is a massively improved cricketer, but carry on your machine gun hating

Totally agree.

Last time he tried to take shots at Shan Masood, I asked him about what his beloved Imam did in Australia. As expected, he ran offline!

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Hats off to you as well my friend for not being a blind follower. You simply cannot defend someone who is indefensible.

I use to be a huge fan of Afridi because I grew up watching him play and he was entertaining to watch. In 2014 I was fortunate enough to be awarded a prize from him for naming the best Pakistan XI of all time. The prize was a Pakistan cap signed from the man himself.

But even after all that, one day I finally woke up and realised he didn't deserve all the adulation and his influence wasn't in the best interests of Pakistan cricket because we created a generation of young players who tried to bat like him rather than play proper cricket.

It's important we follow the right examples and unfortunately near all of our notable ex-players are toxic, including Misbah.

Yep. Misbah has made many shocking selection decisions. We have a squad full of oldies with a few kids here and there. No forward thinking nor team building, and 0 tactics and analysis is being done. Insane, really. Misbah cannot be defended now

 

[Savak]

Totally agree.

Last time he tried to take shots at Shan Masood, I asked him about what his beloved Imam did in Australia. As expected, he ran offline!

Yes a lot of players have disappointed on this tour, maybe our expectations were to blame, we were in a commanding position in the first test but England are ranked in the top two and have been excellent at home for a reason and they have exposed our teams one dimensional plan A strategy yet again just like Australia did in Australia.

It appears that not a single stakeholder involved from the PCB to the team management does an honest retrospection and learns any genuine lessons. I have been watching Misbah as captain and now coach for the last ten years and I still see the same UAE tactics of 3 pacers and a spinner being blindly applied to Sena conditions when we have seen that a spinner is ineffective in the first few days and the pacers need a fourth pacer in the attack to allow atleast 2 pacers to be used in short sharp aggressive bursts.

Every time we get England in a tough situation, our pacers run out of gas and the English batsmen capitalize. Mickey Arthur tried to change this by bringing in Shadab and Faheem Ashraf and end result was a win against Ireland, England and an improved showing against South Africa in the third test match.

I can understand that the PCB professionally is doing the right thing by giving the team management autonomy, support and staying away from the team affairs and they will probably take action close to the end of the team managements tenure as they did with Mickey Arthur but unfortunately the coaches sadly just look like doing a job where they are collecting hefty paycheques for nothing. The difference in this series has been the difference in the team management's of the two sides as well

 

[Nervesofsteel]

Yes a lot of players have disappointed on this tour, maybe our expectations were to blame, we were in a commanding position in the first test but England are ranked in the top two and have been excellent at home for a reason and they have exposed our teams one dimensional plan A strategy yet again just like Australia did in Australia.

It appears that not a single stakeholder involved from the PCB to the team management does an honest retrospection and learns any genuine lessons. I have been watching Misbah as captain and now coach for the last ten years and I still see the same UAE tactics of 3 pacers and a spinner being blindly applied to Sena conditions when we have seen that a spinner is ineffective in the first few days and the pacers need a fourth pacer in the attack to allow atleast 2 pacers to be used in short sharp aggressive bursts.

Every time we get England in a tough situation, our pacers run out of gas and the English batsmen capitalize. Mickey Arthur tried to change this by bringing in Shadab and Faheem Ashraf and end result was a win against Ireland, England and an improved showing against South Africa in the third test match.

I can understand that the PCB professionally is doing the right thing by giving the team management autonomy, support and staying away from the team affairs and they will probably take action close to the end of the team managements tenure as they did with Mickey Arthur but unfortunately the coaches sadly just look like doing a job where they are collecting hefty paycheques for nothing. The difference in this series has been the difference in the team management's of the two sides as well

On point. I said right after the first that this was the most impact Yasir was going to have in this series. He will get smashed around after this & that is exactly what happened. Misbah is still stuck with his UAE plans. Mickey was making a mistake of going in with 4 pacers in UAE and Misbah is making the exact opposite mistake of Mickey here in UK.

 

[topspin]

Yes a lot of players have disappointed on this tour, maybe our expectations were to blame, we were in a commanding position in the first test but England are ranked in the top two and have been excellent at home for a reason and they have exposed our teams one dimensional plan A strategy yet again just like Australia did in Australia.

It appears that not a single stakeholder involved from the PCB to the team management does an honest retrospection and learns any genuine lessons. I have been watching Misbah as captain and now coach for the last ten years and I still see the same UAE tactics of 3 pacers and a spinner being blindly applied to Sena conditions when we have seen that a spinner is ineffective in the first few days and the pacers need a fourth pacer in the attack to allow atleast 2 pacers to be used in short sharp aggressive bursts.

Every time we get England in a tough situation, our pacers run out of gas and the English batsmen capitalize. Mickey Arthur tried to change this by bringing in Shadab and Faheem Ashraf and end result was a win against Ireland, England and an improved showing against South Africa in the third test match.

I can understand that the PCB professionally is doing the right thing by giving the team management autonomy, support and staying away from the team affairs and they will probably take action close to the end of the team managements tenure as they did with Mickey Arthur but unfortunately the coaches sadly just look like doing a job where they are collecting hefty paycheques for nothing. The difference in this series has been the difference in the team management's of the two sides as well

Very well analysed. It's clear that Azhar is a puppet of Misbah. When the latter was captain we were used to seeing him overbowl Yasir and run him to the ground. It comes to no surprise that Azhar Ali has adopted the same tactics.

Mickey Arthur had his flaws and was far from perfect. I wouldn't mind if he was replaced by someone of higher calibre for e.g. Andy Flower, who was available at the time just prior to Misbah's appointment.

Yes Mickey's Pakistan side had superior results in England during the 2016 and 2018 tours but many of us I suspect have forgotten that we could have won the 2016 series if it wasn't for Misbah's awful defensive tactics at Edgbaston (during the 3rd test). We had a lead in excess of 100 and after 10 overs with no wickets, he sent all his fielders back. We all question Azhar Ali's tactics and yes he's awful but what I have yet to see here is anyone highlight the resemblance of his field placing to the ones we were accustomed to seeing from Misbah when he was captain. Coincidence? Obviously not.

 

[Major]

That’s the problem. I can’t seem to pick any XI that would be remotely good. You throw these players out and the alternatives are going to be equally bad if not worse.

Realistically, you could bring Haris back to shore up the middle-order. Talent wise he is right up there with Babar, but he has no hunger to succeed and is willingly throwing his career away.

I might be tempted to bring Sami Aslam back. Yes he has failed so far, but if he shows a bit of guts he can be far better than talentless Masood and an over the hill Abid.

sami aslam was a good cricketer. He was from the u19 with Babar azam and laonged with Babr i had hoped we would see him as an opener for the test side

He recently score 3 centuries back to back.

but the problem is same.

You play abid or shan or aslam. They will do nothing on overseas and score pile of runs in Pak/uae. I think we will have to accept and be home track bullies to maintain a ranking in the WTC, and when we get to the play offs, just sneak a fluke to win it.

 

[coy0607]

That’s the problem. I can’t seem to pick any XI that would be remotely good. You throw these players out and the alternatives are going to be equally bad if not worse.

Realistically, you could bring Haris back to shore up the middle-order. Talent wise he is right up there with Babar, but he has no hunger to succeed and is willingly throwing his career away.

I might be tempted to bring Sami Aslam back. Yes he has failed so far, but if he shows a bit of guts he can be far better than talentless Masood and an over the hill Abid.

There a difference in losing vs losing but building towards something. We can replace Asad, Abid, Shan, and Abid with younger & more promising players, Pakistan would still lose just as badly, but you would be building towards something.

Case and point: the bowling. Pakistan could have played Wahab and Sohail instead of Shaheen and Naseem, and things wouldn't have been much different. But at least you are building towards a potentially good bowling attack 2-3 years down the road.

This batting lineup will only worsen over time, they're awful right now and provide nothing to look forward to.

 

[topspin]

Yep. Misbah has made many shocking selection decisions. We have a squad full of oldies with a few kids here and there. No forward thinking nor team building, and 0 tactics and analysis is being done. Insane, really. Misbah cannot be defended now

This is exactly what I expected because it's what I have been accustomed to seeing from him ever since he was captain.

I can understand however in a Pakistan set-up, it may have been difficult in the past to see where the root of the problem lied but now that Misbah is Head Coach and Chief Selector, it's now clear for everyone to see that only he can be accountable for the performances we've seen from this side. I stress the word "performances" and not "outcomes" because its the manner in which we are losing that has made Misbah public enemy no.1 among Pakistan cricket fans.

We were losing a lot of games under Mickey but it wasn't this bad in Australia and in England we actually won tests and went unbeaten. In white ball cricket, Pakistan's batting developed and he was instrumental to the development of Babar Azam.

It would be an understatement for me to say that all the good work he did is being undone by Misbah.

 

[ZamanFan]

Azhar Ali and Misbah are doing nothing which was predicted They are doing exactly as many expected them to do. Innings defeat and players shoulders down by the 2nd day.

I've stopped watching live cricket post-Misbah appointment because I know what they'll do.

Waste of time to ask for replacements, the PCB wants to finish whatever fandom of Pakistan cricket left. They'll lose the series, come back and lie low. In few months another series will start and the issue will be swept under the rug. Just thinking which associate team they'll be paying to come to Pakistan and lose to Misbah XI. It can't be a top 5 team, it'll be an Ireland or even Zimbabwe. After winning the PCB mafia will celebrate and honour Misbah for his superb effort, so I request guys to relax. Forget about this series look forward to a win against Zimbabwe/Ireland, everything will be fine.

 

[Major]

There a difference in losing vs losing but building towards something. We can replace Asad, Abid, Shan, and Abid with younger & more promising players, Pakistan would still lose just as badly, but you would be building towards something.

Case and point: the bowling. Pakistan could have played Wahab and Sohail instead of Shaheen and Naseem, and things wouldn't have been much different. But at least you are building towards a potentially good bowling attack 2-3 years down the road.

This batting lineup will only worsen over time, they're awful right now and provide nothing to look forward to.

You cant do a complete team revamp
You change players along the way.

Mamoon has a point. Look forget Azhar and Shafiq. Abid got selected on merit. He had performances behind his back and he still failed.

You do a revamp what gurantee you have those new players will come in and perform?

When asad shafiq and azhar came in 2010, they were good. People started asking for there ouster right after 2015.

You bring in new kids, no one is going to have patience. We already want naseem to be dropped.

Pakistan has to accept what they are currently.

We always have this belief that if so and so had played we might had done better. Yasir Shah was our second highest scorer in Australia

 

[Kroll]

You cant do a complete team revamp
You change players along the way.

Mamoon has a point. Look forget Azhar and Shafiq. Abid got selected on merit. He had performances behind his back and he still failed.

You do a revamp what gurantee you have those new players will come in and perform?

When asad shafiq and azhar came in 2010, they were good. People started asking for there ouster right after 2015.

You bring in new kids, no one is going to have patience. We already want naseem to be dropped.

Pakistan has to accept what they are currently.

We always have this belief that if so and so had played we might had done better. Yasir Shah was our second highest scorer in Australia

I would say Abid got selected because he was 30+ as well as performances. Sami Aslam or even Imam could have been given a shot at the opener slot instead.

No one was asking for kids, but playing Musa and Naseem was a huge blunder. Naseem should have been given a rest at least for this Test match and played either Sohail Khan or Faheem although not ideal this is what we had. This is why someone like Ehsan Adil or Sameen Gul should have been inducted.

Yasir Shah isn't in the team for the batting is he? By that regards, Shadab has also done well with the bat, at this moment in time he is still outscoring Azhar in the series. Why can someone like Musa be inducted into test squad but Zafar Gohar or Sajid Khan can not?

 

[owais1]

Call me a pessimist but I don't think we got any player besides Babar who deserves to be an international player. None of our first class players is capable of scoring outside flat pitches, and none of our bowler is worth the hype (like Shaheen). The problem lies at the grassroots level, we don't train players as we should. Real talents are not getting chances, sifaarishi has corrupted everything in Pakistan.

There were so many potentially talented players who could have been groomed 2 years before Misbahs en Younis' retirement. Instead we stuck to TTF's and kept testing 30+ amateurs who just played a few tests and were never heard of again.

I have always been a fan of PCT, and supported them even at bad times. However, I cannot do it anymore. Misbah who has absolutely ruined our team with his nepotism, the first class structure which is rotten to its core and the injustice which is highly prevalent.

 

[Khan12]

If these 2 have any shame left they would resign after this game along with waqar the fake accent.

 

[skureishi]

Next misbah will be replaced by Azhar as head coach.

 

[Rana]

Misbah will still be lingering around forever. He will be the first to step in when our next world class appointment fails after a couple of years

 

[Rana]

Call me a pessimist but I don't think we got any player besides Babar who deserves to be an international player. None of our first class players is capable of scoring outside flat pitches, and none of our bowler is worth the hype (like Shaheen). The problem lies at the grassroots level, we don't train players as we should. Real talents are not getting chances, sifaarishi has corrupted everything in Pakistan.

There were so many potentially talented players who could have been groomed 2 years before Misbahs en Younis' retirement. Instead we stuck to TTF's and kept testing 30+ amateurs who just played a few tests and were never heard of again.

I have always been a fan of PCT, and supported them even at bad times. However, I cannot do it anymore. Misbah who has absolutely ruined our team with his nepotism, the first class structure which is rotten to its core and the injustice which is highly prevalent.

Good post.

 

[Khan12]

Good to see some misbah's fans realising the beghairat that misbah is.

 

[cricketfan11]

Why not Waqar too?

The pacers have looked ordinary.

Sarfraz was always going to be a better captain than Azhar. Pakistan team will not produce fighters if Azhar is the captain. The team had a better chance to produce fighters under Sarfraz. This is why I wasn't fully convinced when Sarfraz was removed as captain because there isn't a good replacement.

It is too early to offer captaincy to Babar in Tests.

 

[Savak]

Why not Waqar too?

The pacers have looked ordinary.

Sarfraz was always going to be a better captain than Azhar. Pakistan team will not produce fighters if Azhar is the captain. The team had a better chance to produce fighters under Sarfraz. This is why I wasn't fully convinced when Sarfraz was removed as captain because there isn't a good replacement.

It is too early to offer captaincy to Babar in Tests.

Sarfaraz had leadership qualities, unfortunately he took his leadership for granted because there were no other leadership options and wicket keeping position for granted because of a lack of options in the team. He himself is to blame for finding himself out of the side because he was not consistent enough with the bat and he let his fitness go for a toss. Sarfaraz was also not a great on field captain either, but he was good at barking at the bowlers and fielders.

 

[cricketfan11]

Sarfaraz had leadership qualities, unfortunately he took his leadership for granted because there were no other leadership options and wicket keeping position for granted because of a lack of options in the team. He himself is to blame for finding himself out of the side because he was not consistent enough with the bat and he let his fitness go for a toss. Sarfaraz was also not a great on field captain either, but he was good at barking at the bowlers and fielders.

Agreed that he wasn't performing as a batsman and keeper, but as a leader he was fine. They should have seen the bigger picture and stuck with him. The fact that they thought Azhar could do a better job, is the problem. when Azhar was a disaster as captain previously and not only that, captaincy was affecting his batting. Azhar's batting has been inconsistent in the last few years anyway.

To rid of one problem you don't acquire a bigger problem.

 

[hitthestump]

Agree with thread title but i don't see why Younis and Asad Shafiq should avoid the chop too.

Bowling was our supposed strong suit and it was exposed in this series, so Younis has clearly achieved nothing during his time with them.

Asad Shafiq is supposed to be one of the senior men in this team lol. He isn't up to scratch for that. Time for him to make way.

 

[Kroll]

Agree with thread title but i don't see why Bekaar Younis and Asad Shafiq should avoid the chop too.

Bowling was our supposed strong suit and it was exposed in this series, so Younis has clearly achieved nothing during his time with them.

Asad Shafiq is supposed to be one of the senior men in this team lol. He isn't up to scratch for that. Time for him to make way.

Agreed, Younis shouldn't feel bad about getting the chop anyway as he always comes back for another coaching role, then fails and the whole process repeats.