Misbah-ul-Haq
The Pakistan Cricket Board has taken another gamble this time around in replacing the captain himself. Yes, PCB announced that Misbah-ul Haq will now take over the captaincy from Shahid Afridi starting from their Ireland ODI series this month.
This had to be said as a needless change for Pakistan especially when they are doing considerable well in ODI’s by reaching the semi’s of the World cup. Afridi has molded his team drastically to give hopes to his people but can Misbah maintain the same tempo is the question of the hour. When England are having 3 different captains for 3 different formats why is there a need to replace Afridi? Afridi was all set to take Pakistan to high standards in ODI’ and he did little too wrong to be sacked as the skipper. Though no official reason is out yet the decision could have a lot of impact from the words of their coach Waqar Younis. Both Afridi and Waqar did not share a good relationship from the start with a difference of opinions throughout. Pakistan peaked at the right time before the world cup and Afridi has to be congratulated for his decision to step down from tests and concentrate on ODI’s. Battling through tough competitors like South Africa, England on the way Afridi pulled off 18 wins in his 34 matches as captain. One has to admit that Afridi is an emotional person and yes his public criticisms are not right but sacking is not a solution. Now Pakistan has a team that are not considered as a team which is unpredictable but after their show in the world cup they are a team gaining the winning momentum and can produce upsets and miracles. This sought of belief was reinstated by none other than Afridi and now Misbah steps in but if this team heads towards a dead end then the PCB is once again to blame for slipping their standards.
The important question that rises here is what now holds for Afridi. He is wicket taking bowler and an aggressive batsman but if the board sees him as a player letting his team down at crucial stages with the bat then his sacking from the squad is nearing. It would be the most unpleasant way for gesturing a legend. But for now all is well for Afridi as he retains his place for the Ireland tour.
Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Salman (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Tanvir Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam
Tags: Cricket, Misbah-ul- Haq, ODI Cricket, Pakistan, PCB, Shahid Afridi
