Pakistan has a new leader in the T20 format, but the choice is not new as senior pro Shahid Afridi has been returned the crown that was taken away from him rather unceremoniously after a damaging row in 2011 with the then Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt.
The captain’s armband was up for grabs after Muhammad Hafeez relinquished the captaincy in the aftermath of the World Twenty20 disaster at Dhaka in April.
After Hafeez’s resignation, calls for a ‘long-term investment’ were made — meaning youngsters such as Ahmed Shehzad, Sohaib Maqsood and Fawad Alam emerged as possible replacements for the all-rounder.
Shehzad, who was a frontline candidate, delivered a fatal blow to his chances by indulging in a most needless exchange of views with Sri Lanka opener Tillakaratne Dilshan only days before the captaincy call.
Fawad was in consideration too, but was left out of the race due to his lack of expertise in the crash, bang and wallop format while Maqsood, despite his emergence as a late choice, missed out due to lack of leadership experience in the domestic circuit.
Hence, Afridi was the only choice for a board that wasn’t keen on taking a bold decision given the troubled recent past.
Unlike past appointments, the PCB has announced that Afridi will captain the team in the next World Twenty20 edition slated for India in 2016.
The decision endorses the management’s confidence in the mercurial Pathan’s abilities as a leader and more pertinently, it reflects their trust in his ability to maintain fitness for the rigours of international cricket for at least two more years.
But whether the trust is well-placed or not should become evident in a year or so. Afridi has been playing international cricket for 18 years, and his body has taken a serious beating over the duration. He remains useful on the field, but understandably has lost that razor-sharp agility as the years have passed on.
After becoming the most capped ODI player in Pakistan’s history, Afridi stated that he would like to concentrate on T20 cricket only after the 2015 World Cup; however, he has now emerged as a leading candidate to replace Misbahul Haq when he hangs his gloves; almost a foregone conclusion until next March, the month when the mega event ends.
Whether he accepts the ODI captaincy is not clear yet, but if he does, his fitness and commitment to the format must be weighed upon by both Afridi and the PCB.
On the other hand, the PCB must groom a youngster with Afridi by announcing an understudy (vice-captain) immediately.
Despite some merits, the decision to hand over the reins of the team once again to Afridi sums up the PCB’s lack of trust in the youngsters. However, one is not sure that the current crop has the necessary acumen to take on the challenge as proven by the Shehzad episode. Hence, Afridi has turned out to be the best makeshift arrangement.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2014.
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We, as a nation, live in a state of denial. Same is happening with Pakistan Cricket. The aging process has firmly taken Shahid Afridi in its grasp. It has come at a bad time and there is no cure to that. His performance of the past couple of years against class teams on testing grounds depicts that. (He does not bend his back while bowling and scared to death of playing short pitch deliveries against decent pace bowlers.Waste of time,energy and resources. Obviously he has run out of ammunition (severe fitness and back problems as well)and has become edentulous without lungs A saying’ Get off your high horses’. (Same for Misbah) Who next? You’ll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind. We don't need to groom a Captain like we groom animals. We need this mentally tough and mature person to lead us in starting from Australian series in UAE. Sarfraz Ahmed is a loin heart. He has the hunger to succeed and has cricketing sense.He has departmental and under 19 captaincy experience. Mark my words.Sarfraz would be a courageous and thinking captain in all formats of the game. He has the ability to set new standards of leading the side. (Although in reality it would never happen. WHY? Inferiority Complex. Our Captain should know how to converse in English).Pathetic, isn’t it?). Who would replace Afridi. Shahzaib Ahmed Khan A true Leg spinner who would be a great asset to Pakistan Cricket team provided he would be given ample amount of chances on a regular basis before world cup starting from Australian one day Series in UAE.(He should be an Integral Part of The test squad as well) What other changes we should do before world cup. What should the squad look like? Ehsan Adil is a genuine wicket taking seam bowler. Should be a regular part of atleast one day squad. He would be better than the blue eyed boys of Misbah. Talha and Junaid complete the bowling line up with Irfan, as back up, to be used in few important matches due to his fitness problems. Middle order should comprise of Asad Shafique, Haris Sohail, Sohaib Maqsood and Fawad Alam.............You get part time average off spin of Sohaib and left arm of fawad as well. Umar Akmal and Hafeez as reserves in the middle order. Umar Amin(medium pace bowler as well) and Azhar Ali should open with Khurram Manzoor as back up.
You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" George Bernard Shaw
The more things change the more they stay the same. We are always looking backward not forward and the future. We keep hearing about our golden past but never about present and future. Leadership qualities are sadly missing from higher education, patience, poise, critical thinking, less talking and more listening to name a few.