Speaking with PakPassion.net former Pakistan captain turned commentator Ramiz Raja backed Misbah ul Haq who has a win percentage of 66.33% in one day internationals as captain, to continue in the role of captain in the fifty over format for the foreseeable future.

 by Saj Sadiq

9th September 2012

Pakistan’s preparations for Sri Lanka continue with a hard fought series against Australia ahead of the upcoming Twenty20 world cup. Pakistan, with an unassailable two nil lead in the three match series, have played some aggressive and exciting cricket under the leadership of all rounder and rookie skipper Mohammad Hafeez and the back to back victories over Australia seem to have appeased some of the disappointment of the one day series. With the recent victories over Australia the garden of Pakistani cricket seems to be rosy again, at least in the shortest format and it would appear that confidence is undoubtedly high going into the twenty20 world cup.

However as the cricketing world turns it’s attention to the twenty over world cup, one eye for those with foresight should undoubtedly already be on preparations for the 2015 World Cup which is to be held in Australia and New Zealand. Pakistan’s one day international record of late is poor with ten defeats in the last fifteen completed matches, compounded by consecutive bilateral series defeats to England, Sri Lanka and Australia. Whilst the twenty over squad has flair and high hopes going into the world cup, the composition of the Pakistani one day international squad needs, at the very least a rethink.

After the recent 2-1 defeat to Australia in UAE, a number of former players questioned the judgment and tactics of captain Misbah ul Haq and suggested that the 38 year old be replaced as captain. Fingers were pointed at Misbah’s decision making as well as the defensive approach of his team. The pressure on Misbah has undoubtedly increased since the recent defeats to Australia as glaring tactical errors came to the fore, particularly with his utilisation of star off spinner Saeed Ajmal.

Speaking with PakPassion.net former Pakistan captain turned commentator Ramiz Raja however backed Misbah ul Haq who has a win percentage of 66.33% in one day internationals as captain, to continue in the role of captain in the fifty over format for the foreseeable future.

“I would stick with Misbah ul Haq for the foreseeable future as captain of the one day team. I think Misbah has done a wonderful job and Pakistan cricket does not need such jolts as would occur if he was removed from captaining the one day team. Misbah brought the team together after a very difficult phase for Pakistan cricket and he brings to the fore a lot of calmness. Also I think looking at the batting talent available to Pakistan, Misbah still fits into the team. Pakistan has not found anybody who is very talented in the middle order that can replace Misbah ul Haq. You can query some of Misbah’s tactics as captain but I think overall he has done a good job and I would not change him as captain of the one day team at this point in time” stated Ramiz. 

Raja though was unsure whether Misbah who will be 40 when the next world cup commences and who is Pakistan’s leading run scorer in one day internationals in 2012 would be the man leading Pakistan at the 2015 world cup and added “It all depends on Misbah’s form and how Pakistan reacts under his captaincy. At this moment in time though I would like to see Misbah ul Haq hang around and hang in to the role of captain in the fifty over format.”

Pakistan’s middle order in the fifty over format has been largely to blame for a number of substandard batting performances and Raja was critical of the Pakistani middle order for their lack of strike rotation and the lack of aggression.

“The batting is a major problem and a worry at the moment for Pakistan in one day internationals. However it’s not a situation that Pakistan cannot overcome. It’s about confidence and finding the right players who can cater to the demands of one day cricket. The recent three match series against Australia in UAE was a tough series and Pakistan will undoubtedly have learnt a lesson or two from the series. After a very good start in the third match of the series, Pakistan did not capitalise on that start which was disappointing. The middle order really needs to start to click, they need to rotate the strike better than what they have done so far and they need to start producing the big shots - that is a worry for me” stated Ramiz.

Raja who featured in 198 one day internationals for Pakistan and was a member of the 1992 World Cup winning squad speaking of the positives from the one day series in UAE against Australia feels that the “rebirth” of Nasir Jamshed in international cricket is a huge boost for the Pakistan limited overs batting line up and stated “Nasir Jamshed has been a great addition. I think he has been outstanding and has improved a great deal. Nasir (jamshed) has been a big positive for Pakistan and he and Saeed Ajmal have been the major positives for Pakistan against Australia in UAE.”

Umar Akmal’s performances in all formats have been a major talking point ever since his international debut in August 2009 and Raja feels that it’s high time that Akmal started to assess match situations better than what he is doing currently and in addition Raja feels that the captain and coach need to sit down with Akmal and re-emphasise his role in the team and to address the issue of responsibility.

“Umar Akmal when he comes out to bat needs to read match situations a lot better. Umar has a lot of talent and ability, he is a power player and he is different to most of the other Pakistani young batsmen and he wants to bat in an aggressive mode and to dominate bowlers which is a good thing. What the Pakistani coaching staff and captain and the rest of the think tank need to do with Umar Akmal is to sit him down and tell him what they want out of him and out of his batting. They need to emphasise what kind of responsibility they are giving him. Umar has been inconsistent, he’s been pushed up the batting order at times and the consistency has failed to materialise. To gain that consistency he has to assess and read match situations properly. If I’m being brutally honest then I’m disappointed with Umar’s growth as a batsman because with the kind of talent and ability he has, Umar should have done a lot better than what he has produced so far.”

Pakistan’s preparations ahead of the T20 world cup have seen the Pakistan Cricket Board allow many of the players to take part in the inaugural edition of the Sri Lankan Premier League. The tournament saw Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal and others take part in a competition aimed to help prepare and acclimatise the Pakistani cricketers ahead of the world cup. Ramiz praised the Sri Lankan Premier League organisers and feels that the tournament will only go from strength to strength in the coming years.

“The Sri Lankan Premier League helped the local talent which is good for the future of Sri Lankan cricket despite the weather playing spoilsport at times and I feel the momentum will definitely pick up for next year’s edition. Once the Sri Lankan population have attached themselves to one of the teams then I’m sure attendances will also improve. It’s a great step forward and the sub continent does support such a format as twenty over cricket is much liked in the region. In addition the timing of the tournament was also very useful practice for those players taking part in the upcoming world cup. Almost 90% of the Pakistani cricketers who will play in the world cup were taking part in the Sri Lankan Premier League which can only benefit their preparations for the world cup” added Ramiz.