Resignation is better than termination. Both former Pakistan T20 captain Shahid Afridi and head coach Waqar Younis followed this strategy after returning empty handed from World T20. As expected Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed as new captain for the shortest format.
After every tour and series the management usually held a postmortem into the team’s performances and changed the captain and a few players to cool down the public.
But changing the captain, the coach and the selection committee after every series loss is not the solution.
For the last one year or so the former national selection committee made many changes to the T20 squad, saying it was testing different combinations to pick the final line up for the World T20.
During this process Pakistan lost series in New Zealand, faced humiliating defeat in Asia Cup, but the nation digested every defeat, hoping for good results in the World Twenty20.
But the team they finalised surprised everyone. They picked four pacers for India where pitches usually support spinners.
During the last two years, Pakistan have had the least percentage of runs scored by the top three among the top eight teams in the shortest format.
The Asia Cup was no different. Another match and another top order collapse. Three times in a row Pakistan lost three wickets in the first six overs of power play.
Some point fingers at Najam Sethi, some blame Chairman Shaharyar Khan, and some think the coach and the captain are responsible for the team’s poor performance.
It does not require rocket science to know what is wrong with the Pakistani team. But it was a collective failure of the players and the management.
A musical chairs game has been going on as a few people are hired in the management, are fired and then rehired.
The board is not giving ex-players a chance to coach the team. Inzamam-ul-Haq coached Afghanistan team and under his supervision the Afghans not only qualified for the Super 10 stage but also beat West Indies who won the WT20 title later.
Wasim Akram has spent time coaching in India, Saqlain Mushtaq coached in England, Aaqib Javed is coaching the UAE national team, but none of them has been contacted by the board for coaching Pakistan team.
If others are utilising their expertise and getting results, why aren’t we benefitting from them?
Batting remained the main problem throughout the World Twenty20. All the batters looked out of form, they failed to establish partnerships at the top and in the middle.
The PCB needs to form a few teams comprising former cricketers to visit different cities to unearth new talented players and bring them to regional academies so that a solid bench is prepared for future.
In the current Test squad only captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan are dependable players. Our domestic system has failed to produce quality players.
There is little or no cricket at school, college and university levels. Proper grounds are not available for youngsters. Domestic players are not polished; no proper system is followed, and players are not selected on merit.
Those who perform well in domestic cricket are usually ignored. How many times are top scorers and highest wicket-takers selected for the national side just because of their performance in domestic circuit?
Newly appointed captain Sarfraz has played 21 Twenty20 Internationals and scored 291 runs at 29.10, with two half-centuries.
He was the captain of the Pakistan Under-19 team which won the World Cup in 2006, and Quetta Gladiators, who were the runners-up in the first Pakistan Super League (PSL).
He is one of the few players who have cemented their place in the Pakistan team in all three formats.
Sarfraz’s T20I captaincy will start from September 7 when Pakistan tour to England at Old Trafford for one match. The team’s next home series is against West Indies in the UAE, where at least two T20Is are likely to be played this year.