Sethi backs under-fire Misbah to lead against SA next month
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LAHORE: Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq on Monday received full backing of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) caretaker chairman Najam Sethi to lead the team in the challenging series against South Africa, scheduled to begin in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Oct 14.
Misbah, who despite his fine performances with the bat, has come under fire for losing a Test and a One-day International to the lowly-ranked Zimbabwe in the recently-concluded series.
The seasoned batsman, in his meeting with Sethi, expressed his deep concern over the scathing criticism from critics following the Zimbabwe tour, well informed sources told Dawn.
But Sethi, reposing full confidence in Misbah, asked him to prepare himself to lead the team in the upcoming series against South Africa.
Sethi said the PCB does not believe his (Misbah’s) performance played any negative role in the two defeats on the Zimbabwe tour and he should not worry too much about it.
It may also be mentioned here that even the newly-appointed manager, former Test captain Moin Khan, in his report to the PCB has suggested that Misbah needs to bring some change in his attitude but he is otherwise a fine captain.
Sources said Misbah discussed the Zimbabwe series at length with the chairman and explained the reasons behind his long stay at the wicket at times during the Tests and insisted that he tried his best to motivate the players.
“I can’t hold their bats to make them play sensibly all the time but I feel that with me batting for longer hours and steering the team out of crisis, the rest of the batsmen should also get inspired to play longer innings,” Misbah was quoted as saying in the meeting.
He advised the chairman to consider in-form players for the South Africa series and to strictly select them on their performance at the domestic and international level.
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On DawnNews
Comments (51) Closed
Sep 24, 2013 12:39pm
Well in that case Sethi be ready for another test series failure!!!!
And Iam laughing at Misbah quote :
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Sep 24, 2013 01:45pm
Let him be the captain. He is the only predictable and consistent batsman. His removal should be discussed once we get a replacement. The team that Misbah has is the worst in Pakistan's history. If there was no Misbah, things would have been far worse, and I wonder what his haters would have had to discuss then. He has led the worst team to wins and in cases of loss, has led them to some respectable totals. Its a pity that this nation does not understands Misbah's contribution despite his limitations. Well, I forgot, this nation has its own limitations, lots of limitations. It hinders thinking and progress. That's why we are ruled by people like Zardaris and Sharifs. Peace.
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Sep 24, 2013 02:16pm
Not just to play longer innings but to score as well, scoring 50 is good but pathetic to score in hundreds of balls......................
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Sep 24, 2013 02:38pm
Misbah should also lead the t20 side against South Africa after his world class performance in the CTL t20 tournament in India. All the commentators including Wasim Akram rated his innings of 93 from 60 balls against Marroons as one of the best t20 innings they have ever seen.
Misbah is the lone ranger in the rubbish baatting line up of Pakistan.
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Sep 24, 2013 02:43pm
@Que:
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Sep 24, 2013 02:45pm
You need a performer, the opening batsmen and rest who follows are not a match winning players, it is not bold to say that these are pretty ordinary players with very ordinary skills..
Misbah has done well and save the matches many times ...
I am wondering, how many times players like Asad Shafiq, Khurram Manzoor, Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez get the chance to screwed up Pakistan raking.
We should accept with open heart that pakistani team is dire short of star performer , and they are producing results out of what they have.
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Sep 24, 2013 03:03pm
Sethi is a joker. He does not know, what is talking about. With such leader at the helm, may GOD bless PCB .and cricket in Pakistan. Looks like Sethi wants the word "Interim" removed from his title.
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Sep 24, 2013 03:40pm
Oh God, why the PCB dont try to understand that there is no problem with Misssbah, but the problem is with his attitude and his mind set, his indecision, no courage to take bold and strong action/decision, and poor Moin Khan now realizes that it is misssbah's attitude is the problem, i all along have been talking about this and in the same line mentioning that missbah is the best batsman in the team, apart from yunus khan, but it is way of thing, or should i say no thinking at all, he is darpok (coward) person.
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Sep 24, 2013 03:42pm
@Que:
very well said, but dear que there are some people think that misssbah is the best, including the PCB,
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Sep 24, 2013 03:55pm
Only Misbah and Younis Khan can be automatic selection in batting line up.Rest all will have to fight for batting place .Umar Akmal ,Umar Amin,Tuafiq Umar should be should be in Test without any issue.Bowling line up needs no changes,Irfan may be inducted as and when needed as he is intimidating bowler in armoury.Spinners are world class,they need no introduction.Pakistan should prepare spin turner wicket right from day 1.Many Asian nations like India,Sri Lanka has done in past .There is lack of spin handling capability of South Africa team on spinner friendly pitches.This is golden chance for Pakistan to turn the table on South Africa with spinning wickets.
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Sep 24, 2013 04:07pm
@Que:
Really laughing at Misbah and Younis Khan? Then you should be laughing at yourself.They don't need anybodies suggestion.They are very good at whatever they doing for Pakistan in batting.Captain can only produce result when you give him right players in form.He cannot bat for other 10 batsman who are cooling their feet in pavilion.
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Sep 24, 2013 04:24pm
Misbah's cricketing ability is not the issue. His negative mindset is. He is NOT a leader. Never will be. The sooner the PCB finds an alternative, the better the team will perform.
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Sep 24, 2013 04:22pm
And the Chairman of PCB who supports him has little or no leadership experience himself. So its a simple case of the blind leading the blind.
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Sep 24, 2013 04:28pm
@Que:
Agree 100%
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Sep 24, 2013 04:58pm
Result SA Whitewash Pak...
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Sep 24, 2013 05:15pm
@Que:
this is the same misbah who captained pakistan to a 3-nil over england back in jan-feb 2012 !! he is the same misbah under who pakistan were unbeaten in every single series from october 2010 till july 2012 !!...until then misbah was everyone's hero, and now you're against misbah just because pakistan is going through a bit of a rough patch?? !!!...i've said it before and saying it again, Misbah has done nothing wrong !!!
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Sep 24, 2013 05:52pm
To all the misbah bashers i raise one question, please name one player who is capable of inspiring Pakistan both through his own performance as a player and as a leader!
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Sep 24, 2013 06:15pm
@Azam Jamil:
Misbah may not be a very innovative captain. But the reason for our losses is not conservative captaincy. It is the pathetic batting display by the batsmen. If you gave this bunch of batsmen to one of the best captains like Ian Chappel, the team would still lose. A captain can come up with strategies but you need the men to implement those plans. Moreover, if captaincy is to change give me name of one other player who is a good strategist and can justify his place in the team with his performance. Younis Khan or Saeed Ajmal are not the solution. Age wise they dont have much years left in them. Hafeez is a total misfit for test matches yet he continues to play. Making him the captain is not going to resolve the issue.
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Sep 24, 2013 07:27pm
Misbah is not only a consistent performer. He is also a diplomat who keeps the team united. Captains before him could not control in-fighting which lead to one loss after another. And not to forget captains like Salim Malik and Salman Butt. Who destroyed Pakistan cricket for a few more pennies.
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Sep 24, 2013 07:49pm
Appoint Younas Khan captain of all three formats and given him contract till WC 2015 and I believe then everybody will focus on their games. He is aggressive, honest and a fighter who can perform. Longer duration in a contract will also kill all motivations for infighting. Thats the only wayout. People like Hafeez dicourages other players like Hamad and Razaq and who never performs under Misbah just to get captaincy. He is not a sincere person. Nobody would like to appoint a cheat to head our team out there in the field.
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Sep 24, 2013 08:48pm
It is a mafia. Sethi backs Misbah. Misbah backs Sethi.
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Sep 24, 2013 09:10pm
@Azam Jamil:
How will he positive mind set know that rest of 9 batsman are depending on his batting ability.?First they need to survive on the wicket before they can think of playing slow or fast.At moment Nasir Jamshed,Hafeez and rest of crews finding hard to stay on wicket.You give these set of players to any captain in world,he will be dead before he can produce any result.Captain and coach can be only as good as the team performs.Cricket is not one man game,negatives are too many among rest of players.They deserve sacking from the team.Good thing is Pakistan still has Umar Akmal.Umar Amin,Taufeeq Umar and may be could add Mohammad Rizwan to bolster batting.
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Sep 24, 2013 09:43pm
Why dont give fawad alam a chance. used to be a consistent player. He alongwith the younger akmal can perform better than many in the current team I believe.
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Sep 24, 2013 09:54pm
No doubt Misbah is performing. But the end result is same. So being the captain he needs to do some thing for better team performance. There is no use of his fifties if the total score is 200 runs.
For example in ODI he himself should bat # 3 or 4 so that in the last 10/15 overs there are wickets in hand and get to big total.
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Sep 24, 2013 10:20pm
there are no attack bowlers left in pakistan
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Sep 24, 2013 10:58pm
@Azam Jamil: Who would you suggest as a replacement?
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Sep 24, 2013 10:59pm
@Azam Jamil:
PCB can not import a new captain, they will choose one from within the current bunch. I, personally don't see a better one at this time. Do you have a suggestion? I feel Misbah is the best among all the available teammates at the moment.
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Sep 24, 2013 11:01pm
@Que:
What would you prefer in a Test match: Bat patiently and score runs, or hit out and score no runs?
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Sep 24, 2013 11:06pm
@Naveed: mentioning Mohammad Hafeez in the same breath with Asad and Azhar is not fair. Both Asad and Azhar have played many fine knocks in last two years, whereas Hafeez has played none. Please get rid of this "sweeper" mentality whereby you just give sweeping comments.
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Sep 24, 2013 11:12pm
@Que:
PAKISTAN TEAM HAVE TO GAVE CHANCES TO SOME EXPERIENCE PLAYERS LIKE
SHAHID AFRIDI , ABDUL RAZZAQ ,SHOAIB MALIK, ETC FOR SOUTH AFRICA SERIES IN UAE 2013..................
MY ODI TEAM FOR SOUTH AFRICA SERIES IN UAE 2013
1 NASIR JAMSHED
2 ABDUL RAZZAQ ( HARD HITTER )
3 YOUNIS KHAN
4 MOHD HAFEEZ
5 MIS BAH UL HAQ
6 UMAR AKMAL
7 SHAHID AFRIDI
8 UMAR GUL
9 SAEED AJMAL
10 JUNAID KHAN ( SOHAIL TANVEER)
11 MOHD IRFAN
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Sep 24, 2013 11:24pm
Well, seems like board will not change it's stands on the captaincy issue. Misbah, if you are a real leader then why don't you open the batting for Pakistan as that would really help the batting line. Other team captains have done it when required so why can't you. You seems to be playing the new ball regardless so just open the batting to give some breathing room to the other untalented recruits????
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Sep 24, 2013 11:40pm
Misbah is nothing more than a liability for his team . Why does he think that staying on the crease is an achievement when he cant make any use of it . He stands there on the crease playing dot balls until runs dry out completely . That's when the other players lose their wickets to compensate for the retarded approach that this loser has . His place is in the spectator box not on the field.
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Sep 24, 2013 11:44pm
Please don't force them to play like you Misbah, let them play their natural game, this is how Miandad as coach spoiled Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir by forcing them to stop the ball they didn't want to...................................................
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Sep 25, 2013 12:21am
@Azam Jamil:
first teach your batsmen to score 30/40 runs then give judgements your present lot of batsmen are B grade players .
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Sep 25, 2013 12:40am
Lets analyze the facts. Misbah has maybe another 2 years maxmum left. He has done a great job for the Pakistan Cricket Team. The Stats don't lie. Do we have a replacement? No. We need to work on one immediatley. Hafeez, Afridi or Younis are not replacements. Hafeez certainly should not be playing tests. Mishab's approach is cautious but sensible....entire team collapses so he is forced to stay and build an innings. He can be aggressive and has shown that on several occassions. I challenge anyone to take his role and have so much success. Responsibility needs to come from each member of the team. He cannot take the burden all the time. PCB's priority should be to find a captain replacement because he is not going to last longer than a maximum 2 years. The opportunity exist but the players don't see it. How about bringing Abdul Razzak back in the team? He can be a strong mentor. Maybe look at Umar Akmal as a potential ODI captain. As far as Test captain I am not sure what we are going to do. Hafeez can remain T-20 captain, he is good at that format.
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Sep 25, 2013 01:50am
Sehti's backing will be looked as negative for Misbha, as we all know his day are numbered, he should not be PCB chairman in first place.
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Sep 25, 2013 03:38am
When Pakistan beat England 3-0 ( under Misbah too ) they were bowled out for 99 and still managed to beat England in that Test. It was Pakistan's bowling that won them the series. Somehow I think batting is being blamed for Zimbabwe defeat but had Pakistan bowlers let them score 30-40 less runs in the second Test they would have won the series 2-0. Misbah needs to be supported as a skipper but given a better team. Some young guns like Umar or Haris need to come into the fold now.
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Sep 25, 2013 05:22am
After Imran Khan cricket went down the drain in Pakistan, even Wasim Akram done better, but after that we tend to make captains out of non leaders ie, Inzimam, Shuaib Malik, Salman Butt, Misbah, etc. Look closely they all are good players in their own right, but none of them has ability to lead as good captain! They all are timid and lacks attacking cricket. Team plays like bunch of players not as a combined team.
Pakistan need to start building a complete new team from ground up with more youngsters, find a person who is inspiring captain and leader. Give him good backing for confidence.
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Sep 25, 2013 05:32am
Misbah, just ignore these people who make a lot of noise about your batting style. Pakistani's in general aren't consistent in anything they do. They like to rush things. It's a mental problem that they want quick runs. Here in Canada, all Pakistanis are late for work, but drive aggressively on the roads. They can't stand in queues and look for short cuts to get through. It's just a mind set of a loser who only rush things. So obviously since you consistently perform, they don't like that!
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Sep 25, 2013 05:40am
Misbah is the best option to captain the team. Even if Dhoni had to captain a team with such batsmen who are more of a liability than contributors, would go in to a defending mode. Misbah on running form is one of the best players in the World and ususally contributes about half the runs Whole the team scores.
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Sep 25, 2013 06:33am
@Naveed:
Don't drag the young players with Hafeez. You should also check Khurram Manzoor scores in his last 10 innings. Regarding Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, these two ordinary players as you termed them, have performed well in last few years in test matches and just because they are struggling for form at the moment does not mean to discard them altogether.
Hafeez definitely does not deserve a place in test lineup but in limited overs he is still one of the consistent performers.
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Sep 25, 2013 07:10am
I think its about time for misbha to leave. Performance is one thing and leading a team as captain is something he was never a good captain.
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Sep 25, 2013 07:13am
It about time for Misbha to leave captain hat. He is not a bad
Performer in non crisis time but not a good captain or a leader for sure.
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Sep 25, 2013 07:31am
If your top 3 batsmen don't perform, you are always going to be in a situation where you just trying to survive and hope that you are able to post a decent score. Out of 4 test innings in Zimbabwe, only one innings was above 300 (Thanks to Younus Khan). Batsmen like Farhat, Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Faisal Iqbal, and Asad Shafiq are hopeless and mere ordinary batsmen who were even out performed by some of Zimbabwe's batsmen. So your quest should be to find talented and match winning players rather than sticking to the same old tried and tested failures who are not meant to be international players and bringing down the team.
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Sep 25, 2013 07:39am
@Azam Jamil:
I completely agree that while his batting has been the best in the team, his captaincy has been very defensive. You can't win matches with such defensive mindset.
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Sep 25, 2013 08:13am
Misbah is the first captain in cricket history who score runs and team loses.
He is not an inspirational captain. Problem with Misbah is his age, he only plays for himself to be in the team rather then playing to win matches. Misbah career will prolong if other batsmen fails and that's all he wants. He reminds me of Kapil Dev who kept playing and never gave india any fast bowler.
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Sep 25, 2013 08:33am
Misbah is a pathetic captain. He cannot motivate or energize the team to bring out the best out of each player. He keeps playing out of form and poorly performing players instead of giving chances to new players with potential to be good batsman. Even against minnows like Zimbabwe he did not try new batsmen and team performance was poor. Bring in a new captain and play Misbah as a batsman. This will raise the morale of the team with new energy and spirit to win. Remove Whatmore and also batting coach. Pakistan is already gone down to number six in ICC rating. Current team planning is not working.
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Sep 25, 2013 10:03am
@Que: I feel you are the one with negative approach, it was this guy's leadership which got the team back on its feet after almost half the team was found guilty/suspected of spot fixing in 2010.. it was not too long ago, people with average memory can remember that much.
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Sep 25, 2013 10:59am
Can someone please explain, which captain on this planet can give you results if his top order is highly consistent being its dismal self? Let's face it, Misbah is the only sanity check on these champions of mediocrity!
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Sep 25, 2013 02:16pm
PAKISTAN will lose 100 percent against South Africa,Either with misbah or without.
Unless Pakistan dismiss Maindad & company, fake cricket academies and 3rd class
selection committees. This will b the starting point.
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Sep 25, 2013 05:44pm
Najam Sethi may prove a good batsman at no-3 for Pakistan
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