Qadir wants Sarfaraz to lead in all formats

ISLAMABAD: Former leg-spinner Abdul Qadir on Tuesday urged Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to retain skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed for all three formats and appoint Babar Azam as his deputy.

Qadir, who appeared in 67 Tests and 104 ODIs between 1977 and 1993, said though Pakistan failed to make a place in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, the captain must not be held responsible for the failure.

“Sarfaraz is a match-winning captain and has shown his fighting spirit several times. I think he should continue leading in all the three formats,” he told APP.

However, the former leg-spin wizard was of the view that Babar Azam should be named vice captain of the national side. “Sarfaraz may take decision to retire after two to three years and till that time Babar will be able to handle the affairs of captaincy.”

Qadir, who was the top performer in three Tests against England in 1987, taking 30 wickets for 437 runs, said after Sarfaraz, Babar will be the best option for the PCB to lead the team.

“I believe he (Babar) has to learn a lot before leading the national side. It is time for his grooming and that can be better done by making him Sarfaraz’s deputy,” he added.

He said that although Babar has served as skipper of Under-19 team and knew how to take decisions at the field, the pressure of captaincy at the senior level was bit different.

“Hence, it will be premature to hand him over the reins of the national squad,” he added.

Qadir said that the PCB should appoint Mohsin Hasan Khan as the national team’s batting coach.

“As a coach he was doing a great job. It was under his mentorship that Pakistan whitewashed England 3-0 in their Test series in 2012. It is regrettable that he was removed without any reason, which cost Pakistan dearly.”

Qadir said that there was no need to appoint any head coach. “I believe that if you have specialised batting, bowling and fielding coaches then there is no need to appoint a head over them.”

He added that the expertise of former cricket greats must be utilised by assigning them coaching responsibilities instead of opting for foreign coaches.

“We have several greats like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Saeed Anwar, Younis Khan, Muhammad Yousaf, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Shoaib Mohammad, Shoaib Akhtar, Ijaz Ahmed. They are best known for their skills and expertise. They are highly patriotic players, who can pass on their skills to the current players with utmost dedication. I think they must be given the chance to serve in any capacity.”

He also urged the cricket board to appoint two to three former greats as the coaches at regional level to unearth the talent at grassroots level.