Cricket: Misbah’s authority diminishing in the squad
ODI, Test captain not entirely backed by teammates.
KARACHI:
It seems that reports of grouping within the national side in Sri Lanka do carry weight, The Express Tribune has learnt, as loyalties now stand divided.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to appoint two captains has played its fair share in helping those groupings resurface with Misbahul Haq’s authority in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) under threat. Prior to the Sri Lankan tour, the PCB appointed Mohammad Hafeez the Twenty20 captain as well as Misbah’s deputy in ODIs and Tests.
“Misbah has started to feel the heat and the grouping within the team has led to its poor performance,” said a former selector close to Misbah. “It seems that Hafeez, despite being nominated for Twenty20 captaincy by Misbah, is working towards ODI captaincy too and Misbah has realised that.”
Pakistan has been poor in the ODI series and shocked all after losing seven wickets for just 13 runs during their chase in the 4th match. The performance of Hafeez, Umar Akmal (apart from last night), Shahid Afridi and Younus Khan has been below-par too. The official added that head coach Dav Whatmore, surprisingly, is in the mix as well, having overturned some of Misbah’s decisions, including the continuous selection of Akmal.
“Misbah grew frustrated with Akmal’s poor show and wanted to drop him but Whatmore decided against that. Whatmore used his power retain Akmal.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2012.
It seems that reports of grouping within the national side in Sri Lanka do carry weight, The Express Tribune has learnt, as loyalties now stand divided.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to appoint two captains has played its fair share in helping those groupings resurface with Misbahul Haq’s authority in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) under threat. Prior to the Sri Lankan tour, the PCB appointed Mohammad Hafeez the Twenty20 captain as well as Misbah’s deputy in ODIs and Tests.
“Misbah has started to feel the heat and the grouping within the team has led to its poor performance,” said a former selector close to Misbah. “It seems that Hafeez, despite being nominated for Twenty20 captaincy by Misbah, is working towards ODI captaincy too and Misbah has realised that.”
Pakistan has been poor in the ODI series and shocked all after losing seven wickets for just 13 runs during their chase in the 4th match. The performance of Hafeez, Umar Akmal (apart from last night), Shahid Afridi and Younus Khan has been below-par too. The official added that head coach Dav Whatmore, surprisingly, is in the mix as well, having overturned some of Misbah’s decisions, including the continuous selection of Akmal.
“Misbah grew frustrated with Akmal’s poor show and wanted to drop him but Whatmore decided against that. Whatmore used his power retain Akmal.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2012.