PAKISTAN’S CAPTAINCY CONUNDRUM
on January 15th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
The crisis continues …………………… Malik’s appointment as the team’s captain has created a lot of controversies in the camp and now his injury is leading to more crisis. The question is why should anyone take a temporary assignment? Especially when the credit goes to someone else. When we talk like patriots and philosophers we all say that we must play for the country and not for ourself. That is restricted to most drawing room, dressing room and board room discussions, the reality is everyone plays for his own self and no-one ever admits that he plays for himself. When the famous legendary Imran Khan, after winning the world cup in 1992 said, “I won the Cup” there was a storm in the tea cup.
If Malik is not going to play due to his fitness, all eyes would be on Younus Khan once again and he would be the dummy target or the sitting duck to shoot at. I am not one of those people who would support Younus Khan leading the side, it was once again Imran Khan the great and the media who hyped up this issue. In my opinion, during 2004-2005 when Pakistan was touring Australia, Inzi was injured and Mohammad Younus took the mantle, he should have been retained since then and groomed till Inzi’s retirement. But, there were other rumours at that time.
The rumours were, he was not a Muslim, hence he cannot lead the national side? I wonder what was the basis of that judgment? If the chief justice of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan can be a Hindu then whats wrong in Yousuf Youhana leading the cricket team? Things changed a lot after that and he embraced Islam and became a devout practicing Muslim. So much so that the size of his beard is being measured to compare it with the extremists and fundamentalists, which is another shame on those who do that. Now, the selection committee feels that he is too old at 33 to lead the side and they need young blood. Hence they chose Shoaib Malik. Because, we all have witnessed the drama which had the leading character called the “Dummy Captain.”
Contrary to the general belief Malik has disappointed his selectors and his mentors by not performing either with the bat or the ball and even as a captain he seems to be very meek and weak and appears spineless and ineffective on the field. He seems to have no say in team selection. Younus Khan’s contention was every single captain in the past has enjoyed this privilege of choosing and selecting his players at international level. And, even at club level it is the same. So, now with this new management and new selectors why do they want to keep this option in their hands? Even the coach’s powers are more or less like that of a mule or an impotent spectator. The all in all powers are with Sallu, Mallu and Ullu. They are the ones who decide in other words, nao zo billa, they are acting like: “Wa tou izzo mantasha wa tou zillo mantasha.”
Is there a solution to this captaincy conundrum or will it continue like the opening conundrum? Pakistan needs a strong character to lead, the one who can dangle less carrots and show more sticks, thats the way the masses behave and thats the way the players behave. We have seen that during Imran Khan’s era that no one ever raised a voice against him or his decisions. So, is there a player who can be the next Imran Khan?
Sami ullah Niazi has performed really well in this match, do you guys think that he should be given a chance in the ODi’s or Pakistan should stick to the experienced bowlers, Rao, Arafat and Tanvir. What is the best way to try out new bowlers and develop a strong bench.
Malik has started running and practicing he already gave the fitness test, hopefully he will pass and lead the team and another captaincy dilema will be avoided.
Javed A Khan,
Tendulkar is still making 50′s and 100′s and you can’t stop criticising him. He is a batting genius- one who was born to play like this and he has not really benefited from systematic coaching like Laxman, Dravid and Ganguly have.
In ODI’s his strike rate is 86, which is better than many players who are considered “aggressive” and “attacking”. By taking risks and playing attacking shots he has become a specialist ODI opener and everyone knows opening in cricket is more difficult than batting in the middle order. Look at his exceptional record on seaming tracks and fast pitches. He has been a pioneer of some very risky shots which even the top batsmen in the world can’t play- whether it is when the bowl is pitching on the stumps and he leans back to create room and swats it over cover for 4 (or sometimes, even 6), or it is the flick straight ahead over the bowler’s head that goes for 6, or whether it is the flick to the ball pitching outside off stump that somehow goes to midwicket or square leg for 4, or whether it is the leg glance towards square leg that is timed and placed so perfectly that no fielders are able to reach it. Many of the best batsmen in the world can’t play like he does.
I have stated before that the reason I praise Tendulkar is because I am aware of his genius, not because I am his “fan” or because I feel happy when he plays well, but because it would be foolish for me to lie about or not express such God gifted and rare genius. If you exclude the emotions of Indians all around the world and ask neutrals who they think is the best batsman the world has ever seen after Bradman, they are most likely to say “Tendulkar.” Whenever he comes out to bat, he carries the unreasonable and unrelenting expectations of millions of worshippers around the world who want him to score at least a 50 every innings. Either you should accept he is a God and if you cannot accept that, you should appreciate his temperament and genius for almost always reaching the unreasonable expectations of his fans.
I have also said before that a batsman’s job is to score runs and if he has scored runs consistently and the bowlers and fielders have not performed, why should he be blamed? At times his batting is defensive and cautious but you should excuse that because he has scored many, many runs and as I have said before in the mid-to-late 1990′s he was the only reason why India was not considered a minnow team.
Mr Kasim:
Don’t worry we are both big boys and this is not the first time we have had a heated debate we have survived worst than this,
A heated debate helps in highlighting both sides of the argument, Knowing Javed for so long through Cricinfo I am sure he does not like the I AM AGREE type debates, he is at his best when he is challenged.
Awas:
You made some valid arguments to sum up the debate, but there are certain points with which I do not agree, we can ignore the rift in the team by calling it conspiracy theory but we all know it is there,
In the last two series several players did not gave their 100% thats a fact, now its up to us whether we keep on getting black mailed or we put an end to such behavior.
I have said it before that Malik also has to improve his bowling and leadership skills if he has to stay as a captain in the long run , but removing him from captaincy now and rewarding the chief culprits of the last two series will be not fair.
Young Graham Smith didn’t become a good captain from day one. I still think not enough time has been given to Malik that we start passing judgements.
If thus far captaincy has eluded Mohamed Yousuf then this is not the right time either to make him a temporary captain. If Malik is seen to be a meek and week captain despite the fact that amongst others Woolmer saw him as a potential future prospect then MY’s personality is even worse. His persona on the field and aura on and off it, is completely flat. He can’t even hurt a fly or inspire anyone in his case. For me, the one incident that proves my point was when Kumble said a few words to him in a recent match that upset him so much that he got out straight away.
The likes of Miandad on the other hand thrived on controversies and on what we now call ‘sledging’. He had stealth in him and knew how to handle it and get under the skin of the others instead. It’s a different story though that his persona was so opposite to MY that he faced different problems with the team and so was not as good or successful a captain as Imran Khan.
Some have reasoned that because of his record and seniority, MY should have been the captain but I don’t agree that these are the only qualities necessary. A captain of a ship is not chosen by just picking the most experienced one from the crew that has made more journeys than any of the others. There is a different criteria and selection process involved based on ability and leadership. By that yardstick, despite what the likes of Moin Khan say, MY is not the type to lead.
In my view if there is any good time to give a chance to Afridi it is now for this ODI series of a short tour. Not only would he be a popular peoples’ choice but of many pundits too to test his leadership ability.
As far as “conspiracy theory” is concerned, this is our national instinct to see conspiracy in everything. Not long ago, any bad thing that happened in Pakistan, the public and the government blamed it on ‘foreign elements’ which usually meant a neighbouring country. The neighbour did the same immediately after such an incident if occurred in their own backyard. It’s amazing how brilliant our people are to judge straightaway who is responsible without even giving a chance for an investigation to start. CIA, FBI come on we can teach you a lesson here
-
This blame game has now evolved somewhat since 9-11. All the ills in the country now get blamed on America without a second thought. It’s not the government this time but the public. Public sees America behind everything and the government sees only one escape goat ‘Al-Qaeda’.
It’s the same in cricket. Rumours develop quickly and instinctively as this comes quite natural to us. Who is conspiring against who God knows? I tend to see black as black and white as white. So, when the captain says the whole team is behind me and the seniors such as Afridi and Younus have said on record that Malik is a good captain and he has our support then I have no reason to speculate otherwise.
On the other hand when Salman Butt was made vice captain out of nowhere, dissent from some players was open to everyone. We all know the coach incident when manager asked a player to vacate a seat for our VC. Afridi sarcastically offered his own seat instead. On other occasions, when some players were asked by journalists of their opinion, on Butt’s appointment, the answer was one of irate nature “it’s a board’s decision” which is very different to saying we support him fully.
Although there has been some mention, in a couple of pieces of news, of conspiracy theories flying about within the team but more of speculative nature than anything else. That doesn’t mean that there is no disgruntleness within the team about Malik because of general feeling amongst some seniors that seniority is the only criteria [in Pakistan] for promotion; but less said the better. If the Board is however aware, as Wasim says, that there is some kind of revolt developing then it needs to be stamped out.
You may or may not agree to my views but these are my own. No offence intended to anyone.
May I request both of you guys as an elder to calm down and not to take this friendly discussion to personal attacks and accusation please?
Both of you have some valid points. Let me give you people an example. Intekhab Alam led a team to Australia and were duly white-washed 3-0. Two or three years later the same team with some players dropped and some new players added but core of the team intact was led by Mushtaq Mohammed toured Australia and leveled the series. But for the biased and unfair umpiring and some of the Aussie players’ blatent cheating when they stood their ground when they knew they snicked behind, we would have won the series! So the captain’s leadership does count.
By fighting on this site, we would not achieve anything. We must voice our concerns, our opinions and sugeestions and hope that it will be heeded by the PCB.
Javed:
My comment which offended you was only in response to a similar comment which you have been consistently making in your last few posts.
We are only discussing cricket here and our personal accomplishments do not carry any weight in a cricket debate.
If you are successful in your personal life so am I. It doesnt matter we are only discussing cricket.
You have been consistently blaming me of twisting stats I would have hoped if you had proved any single one of them wrong and explained how I have twisted them.
You posted wrong stats for Afridi to make him look better and for malik to make him look bad, I wonder why? And I proved your stats wrong by posting the correct ones.
Its not Naach na janey aangen tehra I think in this scenario Ulta chor kotwal ko dantey will be more appropriate.
Because all those players who did not performed they are now aspiring to become the captain and are criticizing Malik with in the lines in their statements.. What a joke.
Yes if Afridi had scored more runs than Malik and had not thrown his wicket in a irresponsible manner in key matches I would have accepted all your arguments but I cannot support a player to be the captain of the team who let down his team mates in key matches and is never willing to learn and register common sense in his thick skull.
He failed in the QA trophy finals and failed in the side match against Zimbabwe.
I know this discussion is not going anywhere so I will stop only if you stop accusing me of twisting stats.
Wasim
Since you have personally criticized and ridiculed me without even knowing me by saying that, “my imagination is driven by my personal desire and motivation,” all I can say is you really don’t know me. But, for record purposes, I don’t live in an imaginary world. I am a very practical person and I have been dealing with real people. Not long ago, I had 653 people working under me and I have lead them very successfully and for a very long time.
So, if you have this imagination about me and the way you describe it, that I don’t know man management or how to deal with human resources or I don’t know what human resources or team management is, then it is your own fault that you think everyone else besides you is an idiot. Then, all I can say is, if the purblind nocturnal sees not the sunlight it is not the later to be blamed.
I have neither denied logic nor facts. Logic can always be challenged and argued, but facts if they are in numbers they are hard and unequivocal and they remain the same no matter how you present them by altering. You are window dressing them by twisting and turning them only to make your point valid, but those figures are not from the same period of time. Also, you are using two different measures and yardsticks for two different people.
Also, to further strengthen your point you are supporting it with a conspiracy theory that the senior players are revolting against the poor lamb. That is the problem, if the leader is like a poor lamb and he cannot lead the herd because he himself doesn’t know in which direction he is going, then the whole herd is not safe.
I don’t think it is a good idea to discuss this issue here anymore because, there seems to be no end to it and we are not going to achieve anything. That is why in the previous thread I said, you better leave this subject here! But, now you are getting more personal to make a point, which is the worst thing to do on a blog.
If you also believe like the PCB bureaucrats, then go ahead support their action and wait for another ten years to see if the chickens have come home to roost. The PCB has chosen the weakest person to lead so that they can twist and turn his arm at their whims and wishes and even a child in Pakistan knows that.
Also, the fact that the burden of captaincy has shattered Malik’s own confidence and his own performance and for that if others are blamed it is ludicrous, laughable and unacceptable. “Naach na aye aangan terra” wali baat hai. It is the job of the leader to lead from the front which he is not doing, period. He should have learned this from his predecessor who was never a captaincy material and when the gauntlet was thrown at him, he accepted the challenge like a warrior and built his faith in himself and grew with the assignment, whereas, his successor is shrinking his faith and his assignment.
No matter who says what and who is after whom and what, Malik should concentrate on his batting and bowling and prove it with his bat and ball. Any complaints, innuendos and insinuations would be childish if he keeps on failing like this and blaming others for his failure.
Au contraire, Younus Khan has proved that he can tilt the balance with the same given resources by his sheer determination and self belief. Although, I don’t want him to be the captain, but what he asked from the PCB was nothing new and he is well within his rights to demand that the captain must have a say in the team selection.
And what Misbah has done since he has been chosen for the T20 is not for Malik’s cause, but for his own. In the past, he did his best but could not succeed. This time his luck and his determination brought rewards for him. If Malik needs to succeed he has to first build his faith and determination in his own abilities rather than looking over his shoulder to spot the non-existent ghost who is going to stab him from behind.
Finally, the PCB has no choice but to look towards YK and asked him to lead? So, after all I wasn’t wrong when I said, I don’t need to bet they will make him the captain for the time being. And, btw, there aren’t many Indians or any Sachin fans here to support your view. This again is a philosophical expression which is far from reality. Anyways, I rest my case here and leave it for you to continue it or drop it.
Javed :
Once a man pointed towards the moon and asked a hungry man what is that? the hungry person replied Roti. Your imagination is driven by your desire and motivation.
You can deny logic, facts and stats, create imaginary scenarios but its not going to change reality. The reality is that the team is divided all the seniors desperately wanted to become the captain and they have not co-operated at all with Malik if it was not for Misbah, Malik would have been completely buried and doomed.
I have no personal favorites for captaincy it should have gone to Mohammed Yousuf by default after Younus khan’s temper tantrums
but PCB chose Malik so far they have not been able to keep the team together but after this series with the new bench in place,
I am sure PCB will have a much bigger leverage against these rogue players and this might be the last year of most of these players.
If following the rules of the management makes malik spineless and chamcha let me tell you given half the chance Afridi would love to step into his shoes and same goes for Yousuf.
The problem is that the players have friction amongst them and all seniors are after leadership.They have done every possible thing to bring Malik down. I think PCB should make an example out of these players so that no body even dares to follow their footsteps in future.
I don’t think anybody should brand Sachin a selfish player by any means. I will pick a player like him in a heart beat who wants to score and score over a player like Afridi who just wants to return to the pavilion as early as possible.
Wasim Saqib
Its easier said than done. There is crisis and one needs to admit it rather than burrowing his head under the sand like an ostrich.
You think that they will not approach Younus Khan? I can bet on anything if they don’t. The PCB has adopted this policy of “gadhay ko bhee baap bana lo” if that is the need of the hour. Honestly speaking, I don’t need to bet, but they WILL make YK the captain for the time being.
Because, they definitely want a dummy captain like Malik so that they can twist and turn his arm whenever and whichever way they like. There is no back stabbing its just your imagination. That guy has no guts, no spine and no mind and no balls and he is the first choice captain for the PCB.
They tell him ‘naach meray bul bul kay paisa milay ga’ and he does or may be they say nach lay nach lay and because of his injury he is now saying, “mohay taqnay pay chott lagee ray … moree nazuk kalaiyaan bhee tooot gayo ray … moreeee baali umariya may kaisi khote lagee ray…. Mohay punn ghatt pay Nandu laal chair gayo ray …..” LOL
Wasim saqib jokes aside, its not that I don’t like Malik’s batting and his fielding. It is the PCB that has screwed up all the players either by praising them and giving them more than what they deserve or by punishing them for no reason i.e., when they don’t listen to their bakwas.
But, just for the heck of disagreement if you say that they should kick out all the players who play for themselves and not for the country. Man, dil ki baatain dill he jaanay, no one knows but I do agree with the point in the thread that this is all philosophical and patriotic talk and you hear them mostly in drawing room, dressing room or board room aur yae sab baatain hain baataon ka kya?
If an individual doesn’t perform then he is out of the team whether the team wins or not. And this has been happening a lot across the border where Gavaskar and Tendulkar and a few others play for themselves.
Gavaskar is the only player in the history of ODI and that too in a 60 over match he carried his bat through and scored only 36 runs, he is so proud of that.
Can anyone challenge Gavaskar or Tendulkar for not being patriotic? No one will ever dare to say because they are very successful players individually. C’est ca.
There is no real crisis, its the same old story of Pakistan cricket where a group of players revolt against there captain and start a series of internal dirty politics, leg pulling, and back stabbing.
PCB is so far on the right track to find new players, and they should kick out all these players who just play for themselves and not for the country.
To lead ones country or to serve it in any capicity should be an honor and not a burden the way Younis Khan rejected and stipulated his conditions time and again and the drama he created while he was delegated the captaincy due to Malik’s injury it was a complete shame, PCB should not even consider him this time around and should appoint either Misbah ul haq or Mohammed Yousuf as the captain in Malik’s absence.