Cricket: Defensive captains cannot last says Zaheer Abbas

Zaheer wants attack­ing cricke­t, finds Misbah’s approa­ch negati­ve.

LAHORE: Former captain Zaheer Abbas has emphasised the need for aggressive captaincy in order to produce results over a long period of time and has said that Misbahul Haq should be more attacking in his approach, especially against a weak team like Bangladesh. 

Abbas believes that a captain who possesses a defensive approach to the game will not be able to succeed in the long run.

“If a captain has a negative approach, he can’t carry on for long,” Abbas told The Express Tribune. “You need to have a positive and attacking mindset to succeed in contemporary cricket.”

Abbas felt that Misbah’s captaincy in the ongoing Test against Bangladesh should have been more aggressive as the batsman appeared to be working towards eliminating chances of defeat first rather than opting for all-out attack against a weaker opposition.

Backs Pakistan to win against England

However, the former captain backed Pakistan to do well in the upcoming series against England in the UAE.

“Pakistan usually play well on the UAE pitches and are in excellent form,” he said. “I think they’ll produce some good results against England. The series will be good to watch and the team has every chance of notching up another series victory.”

‘Danger of Indian influence over Bangaldesh’

The former captain raised concerns over the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) backing Mustafa Kamal for the International Cricket Council (ICC) president in return for a tour of the country next year.

“I think there’s a possibility of undue Indian influence over the Bangladesh Cricket Board, which is worrying,” said Abbas.

“Bangladesh may end up backing out of the tour because of this influence after obtaining PCB’s support over the ICC presidency.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2011.