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Who can be Pakistan's next captain?

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Gunner786

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Pakistan should give the captaincy to Babar Azam. He's the only player in the starting 11 with his spot secure for the foreseeable future. Who knows maybe the captaincy and extra responsibility will push his game to the next level and make him a better player. A few examples of other teams doing the same thing. Sarfraz has become a passenger in this team and if the captain himself isnt performing then he has no authority left.

England did it with Joe Root

South Africa did it with Graeme Smith in 2002 & recently with Aiden Markram.

India did it with Ganguly, Dhoni and now Virat Kohli.

Australia did it with Ricky Ponting, Micheal Clarke and recently Steven Smith.
 
I agree. Only Babar looks like a player that has secured his spot in the Pak team.

Of course he will learn to become a good captain as time goes by but he needs to start working on developing leadership qualities asap!
 
shadab Khan should be the next captain he is the only person in the team who looks interested and lively the rest not bothered one bit
 
Has to be Babar.

He's young and holds a spot in all three formats.

Amir has the spot fixing history and hasn't been performing for a while(until now). It's not going to happen so it's not worth considering. While Imam/Imad/Fakhar/Shadab should focus on their form because their long-term future is in serious doubt. Their issue is the same as Sarfraz.

Bringing in an external candidate is a recipe for disaster. The player would have to perform like Michael Hussey (2005-2008)to survive. Otherwise, he will get ripped apart by everyone.
 
Imad Wasim seems like the only one sharp enough and mature enough to take the captaincy. He is useful with the ball but not bad with the bat either. Has averaged 49 since the CT final, can play the finisher role and should be batting at No.6 after the WC
 
I feel PCB will bring some outsider for captaincy...... Like Rizwan etc... Because they have history of doing such things
 
babar has done nothing to win us matches, he is just "andhon mein kaana raja"... no match winner... no leader in current 11 or squad... shadab could be that guy, but for that his game has to improve a lot.... babar is another SENIOR GUY in the making...
 
I feel PCB will bring some outsider for captaincy...... Like Rizwan etc... Because they have history of doing such things....that will be a disaster for pakistan team....
A tours are meant to groom future players, captain, keeper etc....
But they groomed Rizwan as captain... who will not be able to get selected in any associate team even
 
Chokli said:
We need a bowler as captain.

Has to be Mohammad Amir.
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Bad idea. How can a convicted felon be the representative of the country & how can we expect him to lead a national team if he has a spotty record? Besides till recently, his own place in the team was unsure.

The captain should be a guy who makes the team on merit & whom his players can respect - can only be Babar Azam among the current lot.
 
Last edited:
There is no one. Fakhar, Hassan, Shadab and Imad are barely in the team and don't justify a place on merit, Imam and Babar are the exact opposite of what you would want in t a captain.

Amir or Haris Sohail can be a left-field choice.. I would rather one of them than anyone else
 
dildilpak said:
Bad idea. How can a convicted felon be the representative of the country & how can we expect him to lead a national team if he has a spotty record? Besides till recently, his own place in the team was unsure.

The captain should be a guy who makes the team on merit & whom his players can respect - can only be Babar Azam among the current lot.
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Doesn't matter, it was long time ago.
 
Love Amir. But I don’t think he should captain, doesn’t stand out as a leader.

Plus, his past will forever taint his image ever so slightly at the least and to be made captain it would pop up as soon as results dip.

Clearly there’s not many options - Babar, Fakhar and Amir

For me the captain has to be the stand out player in the team who should be the most reliable in performance, good in the field, the most hardworking and all of that jazz. This is vital especially with our team.

For LOI cricket the only person that ticks all those boxes I believe is Babar
Again I’m not too sure Babar is leader material either (and it’s the same for Fakhar plus he’s not consistent in his batting.) Babar it is.
 
Guys, almost every player is struggling to step foot in their respective games right now. Babr needs to fix his game first. Amir is yet to learn and hold onto swing bowling. Imam needs to step up with SR and stay consistent against good teams. Wahab and Hasan needs to stop being scatterguns. Malik and Hafeez are too old. It would be real stupid to name a captain among these right now, esp. when WC is in-process.
 
Babar should never captain Pakistan. He's going to have to carry the batting lineup on his shoulders for the next decade and you want to give him the added pressure of the captaincy as well. Its a recipe for disaster.
 
Chokli said:
Doesn't matter, it was long time ago.
Click to expand...

It does matter if you are the captain of a national team, nobody forgets such incidents. What example will a board be setting to the young players if somebody who tainted the game & the country is appointed to captain the team? Don’t forget, PCB & Misbah had to invest a lot of work to resurrect the team after the mess it found itself in, they wouldn’t want any taint of the incident to linger on.
 
Babar although hugely talented lacks mental toughness. To ask someone like that to lead a dysfunctional team may negatively impact his growth as a batsman.
 
Tintin_FTW said:
Babar should never captain Pakistan. He's going to have to carry the batting lineup on his shoulders for the next decade and you want to give him the added pressure of the captaincy as well. Its a recipe for disaster.
Click to expand...

If Kohli, Smith, Williamson, Holder and Root - so many guys who are star performers in their team can be given the responsibility of captaincy can manage it, then why not Babar?

You cannot make someone a great cricketer by constantly hiding him and wrapping him up in cotton wool.

Give him that added responsibility. Who knows maybe it will spur him on to scale greater heights as a batsman as well.
 
ak619 said:
If Kohli, Smith, Williamson, Holder and Root - so many guys who are star performers in their team can be given the responsibility of captaincy can manage it, then why not Babar?

You cannot make someone a great cricketer by constantly hiding him and wrapping him up in cotton wool.

Give him that added responsibility. Who knows maybe it will spur him on to scale greater heights as a batsman as well.
Click to expand...

Kohli in short form cricket has Rohit, Shikar, Dhoni in the team with him

Smith has Warner, Finch amongst others

Williamson has Taylor and Guptil

Holder is possibly an exception but he is not the quality batsmen of the others

Babar has no one of his standard in the team and will be doing it on his own for some time and at 24 years of age your asking to not only carry the entire batting up on shoulders but also captain, ridiculous in my opinion
 
unemployedgm said:
Babar although hugely talented lacks mental toughness. To ask someone like that to lead a dysfunctional team may negatively impact his growth as a batsman.
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Compared to the others, he's the right choice.

Think about it like this. Other candidates have far greater issues than lacking a bit of mental toughness. Some don't even deserve a spot in the squad let alone the captain's armband!

With so many poor choices, you go with someone that has a reasonable chance of making it work. This could easily push Babar to greater heights and get him out of his shell.
 
Don't mean to offend, but Pakistanis in general are very image-conscious. I won't be surprised if Imad, Shan Masood or even Imam-ul-Haq is made captain just because of their English speaking abilities.

Logically, only Babar deserves to be captain since he's the only one whose place in the playing 11 is secured in all 3 formats. Only factor against him would be his non-aggressive/introvert personality which may not be best suited to deal with team politics. He should be given a fixed & longish tenure as captain with a free hand to control "seniors".
 
Bobby.

I don't see any leadership qualities in him but there no better option.

He is the only player guaranteed a place in all formats. Give him a good coach+support staff. Plan for next WC as soon as this one is over.

If 3 formats are too much at beginning then make some random name test captain for 2 years.
 
Inzamam, he is virtually the captain now and his trusted nephew be made the VC...
 
Babar is our best batsman. No doubt about it. Probably first name out of 11. But a player who’s been given a consistent run for the last 3 years at the same batting position scores at 3 an over when the required rate is 8 is just not good enough to deliver under added pressure of captaincy. If this is what our best can do then god help us.
 
Babar. There is no one else.

Amir should never be the captain, no matter how good he performs. And let's not forget why he never made the first WC squad.

I think Shan would have a great choice provided he did well but sadly he hasn't played enough games yet.
 
It’s either Amir or Sadab. Babar should only concentrate to be like Kohli by watching his videos and learn to be more mentally strong.
 
Shadab shouldnt even be in the team. He’s as good as Faheem. Guys like Shadab, Faheem, Hassan are only good against minnows. Should be kicked out after the WC.
 
Only person i can see is shaan masood!
The new misbah, when we need a new imran!
But on the positive side, it means no more imam!
 
I think Amir will be made captain. I have no issues with that. I think PCB will go with Amir or Babar.
 
There is no captaincy candidate at the moment.
Amir has just regained form. He is not an automatic selection.
A good batsman (Tendulkar/Inzamam/Anwar) does not necessarily mean a good captain. Babar is in excellent form as a batsman and to make him captain involves tremendous risk his batting form might suffer.
Neither of Fakhar or Imam or Imad are consistent or have played sufficient international cricket.
 
Imad Wasim would be a better player and a genuine LOI captaincy choice if he worked on his fitness.

There is a decent number 7 in there BUT his conditioning, like so many others in the team, just about meets standards, if that.

Pakistan as a whole, still look unfit - only Shadab and maybe Zaman provide fielding intensity.
 
Babar is widely respected and is at a perfect age to be considered for captaincy. Sarfraz could then play freely and bat up the order. I feel Sarfraz has a lot of cricket still left in him and can also guide Babar a bit like Dhoni /Kholi.
 
For starters the captain should be someone who actually deserves to be in the ODI team, specialist captains like Azhar Ali or Sarfraz will not suffice.

For me Babar is too timid a guy to become captain. The only one I see with some kind of leadership skills despite his spot-fixing history is Aamir. He has learnt from his mistakes. Lets give it to him and back him and build a new side around him. He has been through so many ups and downs the players can learn a lot from his experiences. The only other option is Imad Wasim who also hasnt stamped his authority on a place in the team which is why he should not be captain
 
I think for a year or so Sarfaraz should remain captain and work on his fitness, I think he still has cricket left in him if he sorts fitness issues out, Babar should be the vice captain. My team for the next odi series :

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Abid Ali
3. Babar Azam (vc)
4. Haris Sohail
5. Sarfaraz (c)
6. Khushdil Shah
7. Shadab Khan
8. Aamer Yamin
9. Amir
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Hasnain

12. Haris Rauf
13. Rizwan
14. Hussain Talat
15. Saud Shakeel
 
I think it should be Rizwan. He has decent records in all formats of the game in domestic cricket (his FC record is better than Babar). He is the fittest and has shown performances recently. He is young as well. He is a jolly and active lad, who can make a difference. Fakhar won't be a bad option as well, though.
 
dildilpak said:
It does matter if you are the captain of a national team, nobody forgets such incidents. What example will a board be setting to the young players if somebody who tainted the game & the country is appointed to captain the team? Don’t forget, PCB & Misbah had to invest a lot of work to resurrect the team after the mess it found itself in, they wouldn’t want any taint of the incident to linger on.
Click to expand...

That was many years ago and he was only 18.
 
I don't see anyone good enough to be a captain.

We need a character, a figher, and a leader. Someone who gets respect from both the team and the opposition. What we have now is weak characters and absolutely zero fear-factor for the opposition.

We can go back to Hafeez and he'd be by far the best captain out of the names mentioned above and that's how low we have sunk.
 
Babar Azam would be a disaster as a captain. His terrible body language and mental frailty is second none on this "team" and that's saying something.
 
I cant believe PCB can be so incompetent.
They have not groomed even one player to be the future captain.Heck i cant even think up of any name apart from Babar who is an automatic selection in the 11.

And i think making Babar the captain will be a terrible mistake.He is our best player but he is not captaincy material and just not the sort of guy who can lead the team.I personally believe this responsibilty might negatively affect his batting as well and we cant afford to lose him as a player with our already limited choices.

I just hope that they dont continue with Sarfaraz,that'd be just terrible.
 
GoUgandaCranes said:
I don't see anyone good enough to be a captain.

We need a character, a figher, and a leader. Someone who gets respect from both the team and the opposition. What we have now is weak characters and absolutely zero fear-factor for the opposition.

We can go back to Hafeez and he'd be by far the best captain out of the names mentioned above and that's how low we have sunk.
Click to expand...

Amir has that fear factor.... check the discussion before every Pak match, the one player that the opposition do mention in their press conferences is not Fakhar, Babar, nephew, the swag crew or anyone else but infact its always AMIR.


An Amir on song is the MVP of this side.


He should be the next captain. He has atoned for his sins, has completed his punishment and accepted back fully by the nation and cricketing community at large.
 
nads_rocks said:
Babar
Fakhar
Shadab
Amir
Click to expand...

Amir cannot be Captain. I don't want Babar to get into Pakistani Captaincy politics and toll it can have on his performance, he needs few years to fine tune his game. Fakhar or Shadab can be good choices for LOIs, more so Shadab, since he does not have high risk game like Fakhar... Fakhar needs to be left alone, Captaincy bring its own pressure, that will not work well with his style of game... For me Shadab is best possible candidate.

I don't want Rallo Kattas like Immad, Sarfraz, Hafeez, Malik types as Captain. Their position in team is highly questionable and have no primary skills. Cannot be given leadership position to such players. But PCB like rest of the Pakistan has no vision or professionalism.
 
Captain Criteria:
1. For Pakistan, Very important: A captain who can disregard PCB, media, coaches and does his own thing. Like Kardar, Imran or Misbah. He has a tough job of upending the old team and starting anew with a small core and many new players. He has to set the blueprint. Cannot be anything but headstrong and strategically clear. Must not make noises like 'I will listen to this bhai and that bhai."
2. Also very important: A performer. Leads from the front. Not there just to provide leadership without performance.
3. Has a positive mindset. Never say die. Not to be confused with aggressive (like Afridi) who was ultimately a very poor reactive captain.
4. Has proven to be tactically and strategically astute. Can read the game before it is played and while it is being played.
5. Is a leader even when not in formal leadership role. Someone whom the captain can turn for advice. Even Imran needed advice. Kohli asks Dhoni and others. So does Smith. There is no one who seems to be close to Sarfaraz to give advice. This is one reason I'd disregard Babar. He is in the deep or in the slips minding his own business, not involved in major decisions. Generally competent in fielding but no say in team affairs.
6. Good, impressive communicator. We don't need someone who can't articulate team vision or who can't stand up to the world and make Pakistani team shine.
7. Is untainted by scandals. Amir must NOT be given leadership. It will create a whole new generation of kids in Pakistan who will know they can get away with daylight robbery, so why not try?

As things stand, Pakistan has NO ONE like that. Butt was getting there. Misbah was the last one who was close.

I don't find Babar as someone who can do all those things. He hasn'

So Pakistan will have to look for compromise on several of these points to get somewhere.

I'd suggest the following:
Tests: There is no one in the test team who can take that mantle. NO ONE. It has to be someone from domestic. A winning, articulate captain. Someone who is making waves. I don't know enough but maybe a PPer can highlight. There have been instances of this happening in the past. Pakistan got Misbah back from domestic that way to captain.
ODIs and T20s: With massive compromises, maybe Fakhar can be the one. Has some decisive innings under his belt. Has worked hard on many aspects of his game. Ability is not in doubt. Mindset needs to improve. Has the game for the formats. is Untainted.
 
From the current lot - has to be between Babar and Amir.

Having said that, wouldn't be surprised if Rizwan is made captain, he's really the only one Pakistan has groomed as 'A' captain

The top 3 will be untouched. The LOI teams need a branding/mindset overhaul, we can keep the test specialists like Azhar, Yasir, Usman, Abbas, Mir Hamza for tests but the OD/T2O teams need to be acquainted with modern cricket.

Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Rizwan (c)
Saif Badar
Khushdil Shah
Shadab
Ammad
Zafar/Nawaz
Amir
Shaheen

Zeeshan
Saud
Hasnain/Hasan
Musa
 
Syed1 said:
Amir has that fear factor.... check the discussion before every Pak match, the one player that the opposition do mention in their press conferences is not Fakhar, Babar, nephew, the swag crew or anyone else but infact its always AMIR.


An Amir on song is the MVP of this side.


He should be the next captain. He has atoned for his sins, has completed his punishment and accepted back fully by the nation and cricketing community at large.
Click to expand...

Very well said.

What a perfect example of redemption it would be though.
 
I would suggest Babar.

He has a great work ethic and will have natural authority through being the best player in the team

He will have to grow in stature through the captaincy though

Best way to do this is give him a young team post WC
 
Syed1 said:
Amir has that fear factor.... check the discussion before every Pak match, the one player that the opposition do mention in their press conferences is not Fakhar, Babar, nephew, the swag crew or anyone else but infact its always AMIR.


An Amir on song is the MVP of this side.


He should be the next captain. He has atoned for his sins, has completed his punishment and accepted back fully by the nation and cricketing community at large.
Click to expand...

As much as his performance is the only bright spot in our campaign so far, it's almost a fact that he only shows up for ICC tournaments and big matches and doesn't probably even bowl at his 60 percent in bilateral matches and series. Or test cricket for that matter where he just goes to hibernation completely.
 
Amir Captain
Babar VC

After next world cup Babar takes over - bowlers usually decline after 31-32 anyways
 
Captain should be Amir and Vc should be Fakhar. Amir is fearless and aggressive and is a strong and honest trier who can really be the leader we need for Pakistan. Fakhar also has experience with leading teams but for now I think he should just be a vice and could become a future captain. Babar Azam is a soft and defensive player and probably wont have interest in leading the team and even if he did become captain that would be another disaster as he is not the best in pressure situations and the pressure will affect his current performance and form. bUT MuHaMMad AMiR WaSS A FIxErrrR says every armchair expert, for gods sake he was only 18 and was very poor growing up, yes it might have been a mistake that took away his prime years but he was sucked into the fixing scheme and he also learned from his past wounds and they have healed as he has been performing good this world cup and has showed what he has made off and is an inspiration for future teens to learn from (well except fixing). We have to let go of these past wounds. At least he isn't like narcissist Salman Butt who still denies match fixing to this day when the whole thing was caught on camera. This narcissist dragged a promising 18 year old to fixing and almost ruined his life and is still begging the selectors to select him and play for Pakistan. Butt is shameless and deserves to be deported to Siberia and experience the cricket he will play there.
 
We should follow the same model as SAF did when they appointed a young skipper in Graeme SMITH. For once make this rebuilding worthwhile without major chopping and changing leading into the next world cup. Here is what my group of players would be and we shall rotate among these below for our preparation into the next WC.

1. Sherjeel Khan (should be available in Aug, is a better batsmen than Fakhar for sure)
2. Ahmed Shehzad ( he is much improved and experienced)
3. Babar Azam ( CAPTAIN)
4. Haris Sohail
5. Khushdil Shah( power hitter/ wk batsmen)
6. Hussain Talat ( allrounder)
7. Shadab Khan ( allrounder) ( Vice Captain/Groom him for the future)
8. Mohammed Amir
9. Haris Rauf
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Umer Khan ( need to groom a spinner, considering next WC is in India
12. Abid Ali ( backup opener and wicket keeper batsmen)
13. Ifthikhaar Ahmed ( experienced middle order batsmen and can bowl spin)
14. Amer Yamin ( another back up allrounder/seamer we need to prep)
15. Usman Shinwari
16. Mohammed Hasnain
17. Umar Akmal
18. Khurram Manzoor

I would groom all these players and rotate them among different series and games and I am confident if we can maintain our consistent selection on merit with this group, we can have good results with Babar Azam as a captain
 
Seamer said:
I think for a year or so Sarfaraz should remain captain and work on his fitness, I think he still has cricket left in him if he sorts fitness issues out, Babar should be the vice captain. My team for the next odi series :

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Abid Ali
3. Babar Azam (vc)
4. Haris Sohail
5. Sarfaraz (c)
6. Khushdil Shah
7. Shadab Khan
8. Aamer Yamin
9. Amir
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Hasnain

12. Haris Rauf
13. Rizwan
14. Hussain Talat
15. Saud Shakeel
Click to expand...

Yes waste another year on Sarafarz.

We should start preparing for WC 2023 right after we get back home. not 1 year after.
 
ilsbird said:
We should follow the same model as SAF did when they appointed a young skipper in Graeme SMITH. For once make this rebuilding worthwhile without major chopping and changing leading into the next world cup. Here is what my group of players would be and we shall rotate among these below for our preparation into the next WC.

1. Sherjeel Khan (should be available in Aug, is a better batsmen than Fakhar for sure)
2. Ahmed Shehzad ( he is much improved and experienced)
3. Babar Azam ( CAPTAIN)
4. Haris Sohail
5. Khushdil Shah( power hitter/ wk batsmen)
6. Hussain Talat ( allrounder)
7. Shadab Khan ( allrounder) ( Vice Captain/Groom him for the future)
8. Mohammed Amir
9. Haris Rauf
10. Shaheen Afridi
11. Umer Khan ( need to groom a spinner, considering next WC is in India
12. Abid Ali ( backup opener and wicket keeper batsmen)
13. Ifthikhaar Ahmed ( experienced middle order batsmen and can bowl spin)
14. Amer Yamin ( another back up allrounder/seamer we need to prep)
15. Usman Shinwari
16. Mohammed Hasnain
17. Umar Akmal
18. Khurram Manzoor

I would groom all these players and rotate them among different series and games and I am confident if we can maintain our consistent selection on merit with this group, we can have good results with Babar Azam as a captain
Click to expand...

Shehzad and Manzoor, LMAO!! dont let his epic workout videos fool you! what is that? do I smell a buffet near Abu Dhabi!! wait where did Shehzad go? I bet this will happen when he is selected for the Pakistan squad
 
I don't think unfortunately currently there is no candidate. Babar is not captaincy material for me as I think he lacks in the aspect of overall mental toughness and as such.
 
Amir: Tainted past and lack of motivation.

Babar: Unquestionable selection but meek in mindset.

I would make Bobs the C and Amir the VC to get the best of both worlds.
 
They will make someone captain who is not even in current playing 11.... #PAkistanCricket:moyo2
 
Sadly either the ones who deserve to be in the playing 11 don’t look like natural leaders or captain material. A mentally strong and inspiring captain who deserves to be an automatic in the playing 11. We don’t have anyone or at least anyone obvious.
 
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