Who should be the next Test captain for Pakistan?

[MenInG]

Babar Azam's record as captain in Tests leaves a lot to be desired and with his current scandal, it is quote possible that he will be replaced as captain.

If that happens, who in your view, should take over the reins for Pakistan in the red-ball format?

Sarfaraz in recent times as emerged as a strong contender due to his performances in the series against New Zealand. We have Shan Masood who seems to be finding favour with the Najam Sethi lead PCB administration. Then you have some possible candidates in the shape of Mohammad Rizwan and possibly Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The other possibility is to leave Babar in place and hope he learns from his mistakes and his own personal form returns to it's prolific best.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Sarfrazs previous test captaincy record

4 wins
8 losses

The guy has already more losses and less wins than babar azam.


Shan masood has an average of 11 in last 14 test innings.


Imo Imam ul haq could be our next test captain ,can speak english too if for thats the reason we want shan.

 

[gazza619]

Anybody but Babar & Shan.

 

[Bewal Express]

Anybody but Babar & Shan.

But who?

 

[Rana]

Play it safe

Saud as Captain and Sarfaraz as VC

 

[Markhor]

Give Shaheen a go. A bowler captain might put a stop to these horrendously dull pitches.

And unlike Babar, he has led his PSL team to a trophy.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Shadab

 

[ex-q-zit]

I have gone for an unpopular choice which is Shan. He seems to ahve a level head on his shoulders. He did very well on the tough Aussie pitches when the t20 "stars" failed to even get bat on ball. If given a long rope in all 3 formats he will be an asset for the tea,. Dont think Yorkshire will blindly name him as their captain.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Rizwan.

 

[shamaan]

I will give it Saud or the second option would be Shaheen both are garrantees starters in tests.

 

[MenInG]

Give Shaheen a go. A bowler captain might put a stop to these horrendously dull pitches.

And unlike Babar, he has led his PSL team to a trophy.

Good choice.

Could we discover another Imran Khan type captain? SSA does have fire in his belly for sure.

 

[TheSultan]

Shaheen cannot play every test match in the short term. The focus for the next 18 months to 2 years is to get fully fit.

In the interim, Sarfraz captain with a view for Shaheen to take over.

It’s not a difficult decision if you go purely on cricketing grounds. If you want to play away from that then just be straight.

 

[Saj]

Shadab

Based on?

 

[hitthestump]

Shaheen as captain would be a desperate move. He's only 22 and you'd be burdening the best fast bowler we've produced since Amir with one of the hardest jobs in cricket.

Sarfaraz is a failed captain who has only just returned to the side from a multiple year exile. His sudden promotion would also be desperate.

Rizwan is 'next in line' but has lost his test place!

Shan and Imam have no credentials for the role.

There are no good options for the job, least of all Babar who is one of the worst test captains Pakistan have ever seen. It is a miracle that we are not an associate level nation at this point, let alone a team that gets to the finals of World Cups on a routine basis.

 

[Abdullah]

Play it safe

Saud as Captain and Sarfaraz as VC

Sarfaraz shouldn't be close to the team. We don't have many tests this year but we do have an Aus tour at the end of the year
No way sarfaraz should be on that your at the age of 36.
He maxed out Vs NZ on avg pitches with slow turn against average spinners- which is right up his street. Credit to him for that - but he isn't making runs in Aus and your keeper needs to be neat and tidy in Aus , which sarfaraz isn't.
I'd be good with giving it to Said- but this is Pakistan

 

[Rana]

Sarfaraz shouldn't be close to the team. We don't have many tests this year but we do have an Aus tour at the end of the year
No way sarfaraz should be on that your at the age of 36.
He maxed out Vs NZ on avg pitches with slow turn against average spinners- which is right up his street. Credit to him for that - but he isn't making runs in Aus and your keeper needs to be neat and tidy in Aus , which sarfaraz isn't.
I'd be good with giving it to Said- but this is Pakistan

If Sarfaraz isn’t getting runs then anyone but Babar and Saud ain’t getting runs

Sarfaraz should be the VC to groom Saud. Pakistan made a blunder by not having the right personal to groom Babar who is now lost

They shouldn’t repeat the same mistake with any new, young captain

Sarfaraz has the highest amount of Test matches and leadership experience in this squad

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

If Sarfaraz isn’t getting runs then anyone but Babar and Saud ain’t getting runs

Sarfaraz should be the VC to groom Saud. Pakistan made a blunder by not having the right personal to groom Babar who is now lost

They shouldn’t repeat the same mistake with any new, young captain

Sarfaraz has the highest amount of Test matches and leadership experience in this squad

Clearly you haven’t seen Saud captain. He’s a more risk averse version of Babar, as seen in this year’s QEA trophy.

 

[Rana]

Clearly you haven’t seen Saud captain. He’s a more risk averse version of Babar, as seen in this year’s QEA trophy.

What is he supposed to do?

Who is the aggressive, ultimate captain?

 

[Bewal Express]

What this thread shows is that Babar remains easily the best option at this point in time. He is the only batsman guaranteed to play and score runs. What the guys on here dont understand is that having captains go on merry roundabout destroys a team for a generation. We had this nonsense back in the mid to late 90s with a succcesion of captains which included Saleem Malik, Wasim Ak, Waqar, Rambo, Latif, Moin and Sohail. It destroyed our best generation of cricketers and we underachieved badly despite all the talent. Let Babar continue until a clear candidate emerges and then if he still underperforming as captain move on to the next guy.

 

[hitthestump]

What this thread shows is that Babar remains easily the best option at this point in time. He is the only batsman guaranteed to play and score runs. What the guys on here dont understand is that having captains go on merry roundabout destroys a team for a generation. We had this nonsense back in the mid to late 90s with a succcesion of captains which included Saleem Malik, Wasim Ak, Waqar, Rambo, Latif, Moin and Sohail. It destroyed our best generation of cricketers and we underachieved badly despite all the talent. Let Babar continue until a clear candidate emerges and then if he still underperforming as captain move on to the next guy.

Certainly a good point.

Babar is extremely bad though. But we can probably suffer a little while longer while a proper successor is groomed as the next guy is set up for failure if he comes in right now.

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Certainly a good point.

Babar is extremely bad though. But we can probably suffer a little while longer while a proper successor is groomed as the next guy is set up for failure if he comes in right now.

Babar isn’t great. However, you can still make the test team better by:

1- Having a very able selection committee that picks the right players for the test team.

2 - Having a very good coaching staff that can technically improve players and be a voice of challenge against Babar at times. This coach can then also help develop Babar tactically as well.

Look, I don’t think Babar has been a great captain. However, part of that reason is because he’s surrounded himself with people he can control. There’s no challenge or dissenting voice in the dressing room that can get reactions when needed.

I think, once you can a better support staff and more appropriate players around Babar, the test team will begin to do better.

 

[Bewal Express]

Certainly a good point.

Babar is extremely bad though. But we can probably suffer a little while longer while a proper successor is groomed as the next guy is set up for failure if he comes in right now.

He is an average captain with a poor bowling lineup without SSA and a decent spinner. The results are poor at home and that can't be wished away.

 

[Saj]

Looking through the list really shows how lacking Pakistan cricket is in terms of leaders and good tacticians and cricketers with proven track records as successful leaders.

 

[giri26]

Pakistan wil be stuck with Babar in Tests because they don't have a leadership candidate. Going back to Sarfaraz will be a bad idea as I feel that he is just a stop gap Test player who after a few failures will be dropped. Also he is 35 year old with probably 2 years of cricket left in him. I don't know about Pakistan domestic cricket but how many from the current Test team captain their domestic sides? None of them look like leadership candidates.

 

[Firebat]

The fact that there are so many different names being bandied about in this thread is all you need to know. There is no good or obvious candidate to replace him, he's literally one of the only players that is guaranteed a place. Just got to stick with him for now.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Based on?

Sometimes teams are helped by captains who are not part of regular set up. Brealry, Tim Paine etc come to mind.

My first vote is for Shaheen. Don't know how I missed his name in the poll. Just saw.

He leads from the front, is fiery and wants to win. Has a title under his belt.

Failing him, I'd bring in Shadab. Can bat, bowl, keep an eye on things and is smart. As long as he does his own thing and doesn't get in awe of Babar.

 

[emranabbas]

When selecting a captain what needs to be considered is that it's a role it self
Just because someone is a performing well it doesnt mean he will be a good captain
Misbah made a Hugh mistake by making babar a captain just based on performance and it should not be repeated.

The options we have are .

Babar - good player but 0 captaincy skills
Shan - might be a good captain but has 0 performance
Sarfaraz - recently has form and will be a better captain than both shan and babar but doesn't have age on his side
Imam - doesn't not have captaincy experience and does not have that leader qualities

Guys like shaheen have still not matured yet and need to play loads more FC

Unfortunately the best option would be sarfaraz untill we could groom someone into the role

 

[emranabbas]

What this thread shows is that Babar remains easily the best option at this point in time. He is the only batsman guaranteed to play and score runs. What the guys on here dont understand is that having captains go on merry roundabout destroys a team for a generation. We had this nonsense back in the mid to late 90s with a succcesion of captains which included Saleem Malik, Wasim Ak, Waqar, Rambo, Latif, Moin and Sohail. It destroyed our best generation of cricketers and we underachieved badly despite all the talent. Let Babar continue until a clear candidate emerges and then if he still underperforming as captain move on to the next guy.

I think the guys on here know what they are talking about, you sir are confusing captaincy with performance just because babar is scoring runs it don't mean he is a good captain making babar captain based on performance is the biggest blunder misbah made 90's era was much better for pakistan cricket every captain knew he has to give 100 percent or he will be out

 

[Major]

Give Shaheen a go. A bowler captain might put a stop to these horrendously dull pitches.

And unlike Babar, he has led his PSL team to a trophy.

for a bowler captain, you need a proper vice captain aswell

 

[Major]

When selecting a captain what needs to be considered is that it's a role it self
Just because someone is a performing well it doesnt mean he will be a good captain
Misbah made a Hugh mistake by making babar a captain just based on performance and it should not be repeated.

The options we have are .

Babar - good player but 0 captaincy skills
Shan - might be a good captain but has 0 performance
Sarfaraz - recently has form and will be a better captain than both shan and babar but doesn't have age on his side
Imam - doesn't not have captaincy experience and does not have that leader qualities

Guys like shaheen have still not matured yet and need to play loads more FC

Unfortunately the best option would be sarfaraz untill we could groom someone into the role

misbah never made him captain.

 

[emranabbas]

for a bowler captain, you need a proper vice captain aswell

Shaheen and imam?

 

[Major]

Delay it.

Pakistan not playing test this year, they are out of the competation anyways. Wait a while, see the odi performance and than bring in Shaheen and Rizwan as the leadership group

 

[Major]

Shaheen and imam?

i dont know if Imam is good with strategies and field placements.

Delay the process till next year when we play a test, and if Rizwan is performing make him the vice with Shaheen as head captain

 

[Rana]

i dont know if Imam is good with strategies and field placements.

Delay the process till next year when we play a test, and if Rizwan is performing make him the vice with Shaheen as head captain

Love it

Inka bhi wohi haal hoga jo Misbah ka hua hai.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Test captain should have enough experience on his side to lead the team..

Babar - good batsman but not a quick learner to be a captain
Shan - no runs under his belt, may be a better captain than Babar but he needs to cement his place first.
Sarfraz - scored runs and made a great comeback, got enough experience = best choice as he makes the team with batting alone if he plays like how he did against NZL..
Rizwan - blows hot and cold , with his theatrics and still learning how to play spin is something shows his laid back approach once settled which normally creeps in when being undroppable.. now being dropped for poor performance.
Shaheen and Imam are very young and not enough experience to be a test captain. T20 captaincy shouldnt be the yardstick for Test Captaincy

If Shan scored runs like how Sarfi did in his comeback then he would be the captain by now.. that is what is stopping him from being the captain..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

If no Sarfi , then they should leave Babar as captain for this year..

 

[ask_analyse_act]

i dont know if Imam is good with strategies and field placements.

Delay the process till next year when we play a test, and if Rizwan is performing make him the vice with Shaheen as head captain

Yes, delay the process , would like to see how Babar does under a proper elite certified professional foreign head coach..

Im sure his performance with the bat and on field captaincy decisions will improve a lot.. Shadab as his deputy should be playing all formats , not T20 leagues when there is intl duty..

Selection has been an issue for long time, get in some one like Afridi who can make the bold decision..
Hafeez would be a very good chief selector

Also valuing what Azharuddin said, babar should listen to him. he is one of the finest captains of the 90s

With the bowling attack selected to play against Bazball test cricket is in itself a reception call for whitewash..

 

[Major]

Yes, delay the process , would like to see how Babar does under a proper elite certified professional foreign head coach..

Im sure his performance with the bat and on field captaincy decisions will improve a lot.. Shadab as his deputy should be playing all formats , not T20 leagues when there is intl duty..

Selection has been an issue for long time, get in some one like Afridi who can make the bold decision..
Hafeez would be a very good chief selector

Also valuing what Azharuddin said, babar should listen to him. he is one of the finest captains of the 90s

With the bowling attack selected to play against Bazball test cricket is in itself a reception call for whitewash..

we arnt playing test this year and babar is not gonna improve any further as captain. Shadab cant play test as he is prone to getting injured and that would risk his career that he can salvage in limited overs.

 

[Rana]

Yes, delay the process , would like to see how Babar does under a proper elite certified professional foreign head coach..

Im sure his performance with the bat and on field captaincy decisions will improve a lot.. Shadab as his deputy should be playing all formats , not T20 leagues when there is intl duty..

Selection has been an issue for long time, get in some one like Afridi who can make the bold decision..
Hafeez would be a very good chief selector

Also valuing what Azharuddin said, babar should listen to him. he is one of the finest captains of the 90s

With the bowling attack selected to play against Bazball test cricket is in itself a reception call for whitewash..

Babar won’t change under any elite coach

All elite coaches will not try to push him or make a change to his own approach mate

 

[the Great Khan]

Certainly a good point.

Babar is extremely bad though. But we can probably suffer a little while longer while a proper successor is groomed as the next guy is set up for failure if he comes in right now.

He's better than afridi akmal malik younis yusuf Akram 1st stint Waqar moin Rameez sohail latif
He's from a similar mood as inzi and Misbah although inzi was hampered by a lack of a proper bowling attack for years...

Inmho we should back him and let him go on for another season or two. There is no one else. We need a long term plan and time to understand how we want to play...

Right now in this circus lead by the clown journalist, Babar is at least a fighter and a proper player..he will learn..leave him alone..

 

[the Great Khan]

we arnt playing test this year and babar is not gonna improve any further as captain. Shadab cant play test as he is prone to getting injured and that would risk his career that he can salvage in limited overs.

How do yu know this..are you saying he is stupid? Or intelleftually stunted..clearly this is not the case.

 

[Major]

How do yu know this..are you saying he is stupid? Or intelleftually stunted..clearly this is not the case.

by seeing on tv. Babar has been playing cricket since he was 16, and has been u19 captain and has played in domestic.

If he couldn't learn captiancy than, he is not gonna learn to be a captain in international Cricket. International cricket has limited games, especially test matches which are barely 10 in an year.

You play more such games in domestic and club. If he couldn't learn captaincy there than he is not gonna learn at international.

Which is why it was a dumb decision by Imran Khan to make Babar captain without knowing his captaincy background. Misbah before being made captain of Pakistan team had years of experience at SNGPL and Pakistan A and Faisalabad Region

 

[sweep_shot]

Shaheen should be the skipper.

If he is not available, Imam probably.

 

[Mamoon]

Rizwan.

A certain expert poster was telling us that Masood should be the next Test skipper. What happened?

 

[Rana]

Why is Saud not in the list of options?

He is the only one likely to play 50 Tests from here on out alongside Babar

 

[Rana]

A certain expert poster was telling us that Masood should be the next Test skipper. What happened?

I for one wouldnt mind this myth of Rizwan being a super captain exposed once and for all.

 

[Markhor]

I'm sorry but I'm getting sick and tired of hearing this excuse that there aren't any alternative options therefore we must stick with Babar until qayamat. Might have been true in 2019 but not now.

Sometimes the alternative isn't obvious but they grow into the role. Take someone like Allan Border, initially a reluctant captain. It took time for Border to settle into the role but he became one of Australia's greatest ever skippers.

When a captain doesn't win a single home Test in eight attempts, lost four in a row and got whitewashed at home for the first time ever - there must be accountability.

Babar has shown no progression whatsoever as a captain, his decisions are becoming dumber and dumber with the NZL declaration truly scaling the heights of human stupidity, so what improvements are you going to see now after 2 years ?

 

[MenInG]

I for one wouldnt mind this myth of Rizwan being a super captain exposed once and for all.

Thats a good hope for a Pakistan fan that his side gets beaten just to show everyone that he is right.

 

[Rana]

Thats a good hope for a Pakistan fan that his side gets beaten just to show everyone that he is right.

I don’t hope he will

I know he will. But I would like everyone else who is under the delusion that he is a super captain to also have a brutal awakening

 

[ask_analyse_act]

we arnt playing test this year and babar is not gonna improve any further as captain. Shadab cant play test as he is prone to getting injured and that would risk his career that he can salvage in limited overs.

Crazy.. what is he made of glass ?.. playing LOI cricket only , not bowling in tests

With batting he is yet to score a hundred in any format, even in domestic cricket he scored 1 century in FC and thats it..

He should be shown the status quo of what he is providing to the team as a player to get injured every series...

he is another T20 tullaybaaz.. not making any mark in other formats.. doesnt have the hunger to succeed, happy to play leagues all around the globe...

 

[sweep_shot]

Why is Saud not in the list of options?

He is the only one likely to play 50 Tests from here on out alongside Babar

Saud is quite new. Don't think it is a good idea to make an inexperienced guy captain.

 

[Rana]

Saud is quite new. Don't think it is a good idea to make an inexperienced guy captain.

They are all equally inexperienced

Sarfaraz has 51 Tests
Babar has 47

Everyone else hardly has 20 Tests

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Babar won’t change under any elite coach

All elite coaches will not try to push him or make a change to his own approach mate

No thats wrong, if the coach is Langer the intensity will be high, there will be no tikay bhai , qudrat ka nizam in the dressing room... Players and captain will be on their feet , this team need a coach who screams out loud if a player scores 200 but the team loses..

there is a diff , under Mickey Pakistan regularly crossing 330+ mark. They were able to beat England in CWC and NZL by chasing, chasing a fighting target for Aus (if they played Haris Sohail and Shadab instead of Malik and Asif (150 x 6s) Ali , who knows it would have been a win ) , beating SA easily..

Not easy for an asian side to do that in ENG with poor mindset, laid back and mediocre techniques, after the hammering from WI.. also in 2017 CT after getting hammered by India

 

[Savak]

The PCB has decided against replacing Babar as ODI and T-20 captain for now fearing backclash from the ex players and public and want him to carry on till the ODI WC. It is exactly this weak defensive thinking which has led us to where we are today. I remember England changed their limited overs captaincy from Cook to Morgan just before the 2015 ODI WC and the rest is history.

 

[Rana]

No thats wrong, if the coach is Langer the intensity will be high, there will be no tikay bhai , qudrat ka nizam in the dressing room... Players and captain will be on their feet , this team need a coach who screams out loud if a player scores 200 but the team loses..

there is a diff , under Mickey Pakistan regularly crossing 330+ mark. They were able to beat England in CWC and NZL by chasing, chasing a fighting target for Aus (if they played Haris Sohail and Shadab instead of Malik and Asif (150 x 6s) Ali , who knows it would have been a win ) , beating SA easily..

Not easy for an asian side to do that in ENG with poor mindset, laid back and mediocre techniques, after the hammering from WI.. also in 2017 CT after getting hammered by India

Soch hai aapki

That time has passed. Babar isn’t 22-23 years old. You can’t expect him to become something he didn’t learn to become in his years of learning the game. It’s too late for Babar now

Yes, the new generation of players inspired by him who are still below 24 can learn under an elite coach

 

[Major]

Crazy.. what is he made of glass ?.. playing LOI cricket only , not bowling in tests

With batting he is yet to score a hundred in any format, even in domestic cricket he scored 1 century in FC and thats it..

He should be shown the status quo of what he is providing to the team as a player to get injured every series...

he is another T20 tullaybaaz.. not making any mark in other formats.. doesnt have the hunger to succeed, happy to play leagues all around the globe...

bro he has strength issues.

This is not his fault.

In every sport, there are players that breakdown easily due to weaker strength. In Shaddabs case you can place the blame on poverty and not having enough food or proper diet when growing up.

He can't play test format as he doesn't have the strength. He is good enough for limited overs

 

[Major]

Thats a good hope for a Pakistan fan that his side gets beaten just to show everyone that he is right.

oh plz, you should watch [MENTION=2016]Rana[/MENTION] in commentary threads when Rizwan is performing in a crucial game. he starts celebrating and asks for forgiveness.

Than when he comes out of that trip, he again starts spewing hateful stuff against Rizwan

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

A certain expert poster was telling us that Masood should be the next Test skipper. What happened?

Masood would still make a great captain, make no mistake about it. He has captaincy experience and led well at Derbyshire. He's educated and articulate and can be great face for Pakistan cricket from a PR stand-point. Unlike our previous how ever many captains who lack confidence and speak poorly at press conferences, he is someone who can speak well and perhaps articulately explain where the team did poorly and where they did well in such pressers. He also seems like someone who has the ability to think deeply about the game. These are all traits that are present in all great captains.

Unfortunately though, we are no longer in an era where a Mike Brearley could play purely for what he brings to the table as a captain. And if there's one thing I have come to realize about Shan, its that he is not very talented. He may find ways to make up for his very obvious and glaring lack of talent from time to time, through hardwork. But it does not seem like he is ever been able to sustain that for a long period of time.

Regarding your question of what happened? This might come as a shock to you but people's opinions grow and change over time. Only someone who is incapable of growing and maturing sticks by their opinions even when they have been proven laughably wrong.

 

[Rana]

oh plz, you should watch [MENTION=2016]Rana[/MENTION] in commentary threads when Rizwan is performing in a crucial game. he starts celebrating and asks for forgiveness.

Than when he comes out of that trip, he again starts spewing hateful stuff against Rizwan

Maybe you are talking about Rana Sanaullah

The Rana on PP is always consistent on his views regarding players he dislikes

“Agar woh hamari team combination main nahi aata

Tou nahi aata”

 

[Bewal Express]

I think the guys on here know what they are talking about, you sir are confusing captaincy with performance just because babar is scoring runs it don't mean he is a good captain making babar captain based on performance is the biggest blunder misbah made 90's era was much better for pakistan cricket every captain knew he has to give 100 percent or he will be out

So where is the alternative? No 2 people can agree on a name.

 

[TheSultan]

What this thread shows is that Babar remains easily the best option at this point in time. He is the only batsman guaranteed to play and score runs. What the guys on here dont understand is that having captains go on merry roundabout destroys a team for a generation. We had this nonsense back in the mid to late 90s with a succcesion of captains which included Saleem Malik, Wasim Ak, Waqar, Rambo, Latif, Moin and Sohail. It destroyed our best generation of cricketers and we underachieved badly despite all the talent. Let Babar continue until a clear candidate emerges and then if he still underperforming as captain move on to the next guy.

I don’t think keeping babar because you don’t want the nonsense of the 90s is a valid reason.

And if it’s unity, consistency you are proposing with the current era as an example, it’s not a particularly good one. Babar hasn’t won a test for over a year, we’ve lost against Australia. WHITEWASHED by England, and barely squeaked out a drawn series and only because of the one guy that doesn’t fit this goody-two-shoes culture - Sarfraz.

Why don’t people judge Babar as a captain. I have and he’s utterly useless and needs to be replaced. You don’t keep a captain as a default option.

Decision number 1. Sack Babar. Believe me, the world won’t end

Decision number 2, look for long term replacement

No long term replacement that can currently take on the position (e.g Shaheen)? Then pick an interim until the long term replacement is ready. I would say Sarfraz is the only option in that scenario but I know people don’t want it for some odd reason.

So I’m with Rana sahb, if it will make the Rizwan and goody-two-shoes cult happy, make him captain. Let’s get this over with.

 

[hitthestump]

he will learn..leave him alone..

Agree with the rest of your post but LOL. This will never happen.

We have the most toxic fan base in the world. And that is of any sport. A certain vocal minority would rather the team fail so they can revel in the misery of being 'right'.

 

[Sher Khan]

Nauman Ali should be made the test captain. He has good experience of leading the Northern side.

 

[Rana]

I don’t think keeping babar because you don’t want the nonsense of the 90s is a valid reason.

And if it’s unity, consistency you are proposing with the current era as an example, it’s not a particularly good one. Babar hasn’t won a test for over a year, we’ve lost against Australia. WHITEWASHED by England, and barely squeaked out a drawn series and only because of the one guy that doesn’t fit this goody-two-shoes culture - Sarfraz.

Why don’t people judge Babar as a captain. I have and he’s utterly useless and needs to be replaced. You don’t keep a captain as a default option.

Decision number 1. Sack Babar. Believe me, the world won’t end

Decision number 2, look for long term replacement

No long term replacement that can currently take on the position (e.g Shaheen)? Then pick an interim until the long term replacement is ready. I would say Sarfraz is the only option in that scenario but I know people don’t want it for some odd reason.

So I’m with Rana sahb, if it will make the Rizwan and goody-two-shoes fans happy, make him captain. Let’s get this over with.

They know it will be the final nail in the coffin of his fairytale drama period handed to him illegitimately by divisive Misbah ul Haq. It will make them exceptionally nervous

 

[DeadlyVenom]

I've thought about this a lot and the only name I can think of is Iftikhar.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Nauman Ali should be made the test captain. He has good experience of leading the Northern side.

Unfortunately he isnt performing.

18 wickets at 47 in last 6 test matches.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Nauman Ali should be made the test captain. He has good experience of leading the Northern side.

He can be the next Misbah Ul Haq

 

[Da_Future_Knick]

The only alternative is probably Imam.

I doubt Pakistan would do this but Shaheen is a great option for captain. It may be a bit excessive if he does become captain though. His workload is already immense.

 

[hitthestump]

The only alternative is probably Imam.

I doubt Pakistan would do this but Shaheen is a great option for captain. It may be a bit excessive if he does become captain though. His workload is already immense.

Why is Shaheen a great option?

I think he's too young, too raw and too special to be burdening with such a hard job. Shaheen hasn't peaked yet, we shouldn't do anything to prevent him from reaching his ceiling. The guy needs to work hard on his bowling, not being distracted by ex-cricketers calling him clueless because he didn't pick this player or set that field.

For now we need to protect him, even at the short term cost of the team.

 

[wrongun]

Certainly a good point.

Babar is extremely bad though. But we can probably suffer a little while longer while a proper successor is groomed as the next guy is set up for failure if he comes in right now.

I think you two are right.

Leave Babar there. He might improve- many captains got a lot better as they went along.
It's also harsh to judge him on those series given the bowling resources he had- a rookie spinner was his best bowler and he had only one decent quick for a couple of matches and none in others.

Shakeel has been Shaheens captain and has done well in recent matches with the bat. If he manages to keep that up and can score some runs away somewhere as well, then he becomes the clear next choice. His age is about right and waiting a year/18 months won't harm that.

By that time the case for or against Babar will be clear and he can either carry on with an improving team or it's obviously time to let him concentrate on batting and give Shakeel a go.

 

[Xoib]

I think you two are right.

Leave Babar there. He might improve- many captains got a lot better as they went along.
It's also harsh to judge him on those series given the bowling resources he had- a rookie spinner was his best bowler and he had only one decent quick for a couple of matches and none in others.

Shakeel has been Shaheens captain and has done well in recent matches with the bat. If he manages to keep that up and can score some runs away somewhere as well, then he becomes the clear next choice. His age is about right and waiting a year/18 months won't harm that.

By that time the case for or against Babar will be clear and he can either carry on with an improving team or it's obviously time to let him concentrate on batting and give Shakeel a go.

Babar is partly to blame for his loor bowling resources. With long list of injury book he should have gone for a tested banker like Abbas who had form behind him yet he made nonsensical picks like Ali, Faheem, Hamaza etc played his best spinner in pervious series vs SL Nawaz only one game where he underbowled and his game awarness and fields did not help the bowlers as well

 

[JibranAnsari]

Babar is partly to blame for his loor bowling resources. With long list of injury book he should have gone for a tested banker like Abbas who had form behind him yet he made nonsensical picks like Ali, Faheem, Hamaza etc played his best spinner in pervious series vs SL Nawaz only one game where he underbowled and his game awarness and fields did not help the bowlers as well

Abbas got injured in quaide azam trophy last day.

 

[MenInG]

Inzamam supports Babar Azam:

“If any player has pressure on him, his performance gets affected. Babar’s performance in all three formats is phenomenal, he has no pressure on him but one learns captaincy with time. He must be given more time to lead the team.”

 

[Jazx]

For long term solution it should be Imam.

 

[Rana]

Inzamam supports Babar Azam:

“If any player has pressure on him, his performance gets affected. Babar’s performance in all three formats is phenomenal, he has no pressure on him but one learns captaincy with time. He must be given more time to lead the team.”

Why would he not?

He is on Zalmi’s payroll

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Arsal Sheikh

 

[Hawkeye]

I've thought about this a lot and the only name I can think of is Iftikhar.

Arsal Sheikh

wait what?

 

[DeadlyVenom]

wait what?

Pak cricket changes by the daily bro.

Iftikhar is my main horse but Shakil Sheikh potentially becoming CS means Arsal or Moeed have a chance.

 

[SamNJ]

Pak cricket changes by the daily bro.

Iftikhar is my main horse but Shakil Sheikh potentially becoming CS means Arsal or Moeed have a chance.

You never know with Pakistan cricket. I still remember then PCB chief Gen. Tauqeer Zia's son getting international cap.

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

The problem is not captaincy, it is with the right selection at right time. Saud should have already played at least 20 test by now, also Kamran at least 10 tests.

I believe Saud could be a good captain but can't risk his career at this point of time. Won't be surprised if he is dropped from the team if he fails to deliver as captain (irrespective of his batting).