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Saturday, October 6, 2012

Why Hafeez is the right man



Mohammad Hafeez has been in the firing line ever since he was handed over the reigns of the T20 squad. Majority of the critics are those who wanted to see the flamboyant Shahid Afridi to be reinstated. Others just do not have faith in Hafeez’s abilities as captain, as he lacks charisma and stardom which has been the hallmark of Pakistani captains over the years.  But they forget that most recently we had Misbah-ul-Haq, a laid-back character and at best an above average player, at the helm.

Despite being defensive and at times short of ideas, Misbah led the team admirably and that too during the crisis times of Pakistan cricket. His job was to bring stability, build credibility and put the team back on the winning track which he achieved against all odds. Sadly the ageing Misbah has become a liability on the team in the limited overs version of the game, although he still has a lot to offer at Test level. Now, the transition requires a more aggressive and imaginative leader who can take the team to the next level.

Shahid Afridi was the obvious choice for many, especially the fans, but the board decided to move on keeping the future in sight. Afridi has had his stints as captain the team cannot afford another out-of-the-blue resignation from him. His antics, both on and off the field, have damaged his reputation as the only iconic figure in Pakistan cricket at the moment.

The credibility issue is very important for Pakistan especially as we endeavour to come out of the ghosts of the recent past. Although Afridi is an honest and hardworking individual, his pretentiousness makes him vulnerable to foolish acts. Further, his career is at the twilight and we need a long-term solution.

For me, Hafeez is the right man to lead Pakistan. Although at present his record is modest, but he has been improving day by day since his comeback to the team. Useful, at times brilliant, with the bat at the top of the order, his off spin bowling is more than handy. He has been constantly among the top five ODI and T20 bowlers and all-rounders in the world. Due to his cricketing knowledge and game awareness, he is called ‘professor’ by his colleagues.

Mostly he is aggressive as a player and can handle pressure. It is too early to judge him on the basis of just a couple of series. He did make mistakes, especially in the last T20 against Australia in Dubai, but we should not forget it was a dead rubber and he was trying to implement the plan ‘B’.

He did not introduce himself into the attack early, as he usually does, because he wanted to give a bowl to the likes of Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq and Raza Hasan in testing circumstances. The move backfired but it did give us a chance to rethink our strategy for future matches. His decision to give Abdul Razzaq the last over is being wrongly criticized as his decision to send him alongside Umar Akmal for the SuperOver.

He has not done any good to himself by offending a major media house in Pakistan by blaming them of high-handedness which is another reason of severe criticism on a prominent sports channel. He has to learn to ignore distractions and build rapport because in Pakistan extra-cricketing affairs overshadow your performance on the ground. So far he has been able to gel the team together and has handled seniors like Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq admirably.

Some of the criticism in the media is baseless. If he gets the support of his players and the backing of the board, I am sure he would become a very good captain, especially under the stare of the coach Dav Whatmore. Meanwhile, as Misbah is phased out and replaced by Hafeez, we should look for a vice captain. At present we should not look beyond Azhar Ali.

Good luck team Hafeez!

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