The fall of Captain Clueless and Company

May 8, 2016

Dropping three players on the basis of a coach’s report who was part of the problem isn’t the solution

The fall of Captain Clueless and Company

It was inevitable especially after the way Shahid Afridi apologised to the public following his team’s dismal showing in the World T20 earlier this year. Who sits around in an air-conditioned room, make a rehearsed speech for being captain clueless and then expect to be forgiven! His incompetency as a leader not only broke the hearts of all those Pakistanis who were following the World T20 but also destroyed his reputation as the man of crisis; in the end he became the very crisis he was known to hit for a massive six.

Wasn’t Afridi supposed to quit the game for good after the World T20? That didn’t happen because the Pathan still believes he is a legend -- in his own mind. Even the greatest cricketers of all times had to quit one day but not Afridi who feels that his country needs him even when it is written on every cricket enthusiast’s face (barring a few blind ones) that it’s not the case anymore. As a fielder, he is a liability in the ground; as a batsman a disappointment and as a bowler, he is a threat to his own team.

Afridi took down his brothers-in-arms -- Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal -- who believe they are bigger than the game like their leader. Their record is pathetic when needed and their axing is something that should have been done before the World T20, not after. In other cricketing nations, players like these are dropped after a couple of failures but not in Pakistan because we don’t have the guts to make difficult decisions on time.

Let’s talk about Waqar Younis and his leaked report … did the Board take action on his points and pulled the rug under the feet of the 3 Idiots of Pakistan Cricket? Seems so but what about the time when Ahmed Shehzad was scoring runs and Waqar didn’t have a problem? The coach had two years to prove his mettle yet he couldn’t handle 10 wayward guys and a bully.

He should either have come forward before the World T20 or shouldn’t have discussed the players’ problem at all. In Waqar’s book, the best way to escape punishment is by apologising after a debacle; in our book it comes under the chapter ‘Some people never learn!’ He should never have been the coach of the national side after the World Cup 2011 but that’s how things work in Pakistan and that’s how things will continue to happen in this part of the world.

As a fan of the game, the news of Umar Akmal’s exclusion was nothing short of good ‘breaking news’ for me. He wasn’t dropped after he refused to keep wickets in place of his brother during Pakistan’s tour to Australia five years back; he wasn’t dropped after he was found moonlighting as a stage enthusiast in the streets of Hyderabad and Faisalabad; he wasn’t dropped after he failed to go ballistic in the Super Over against England last year … he wasn’t even dropped after he failed in crucial matches for his country so why take the action now? Why drop him when Pakistan has sunk to 9th position in ODIs and he has been ridiculed as a ‘legendary’ failure? Why wasn’t he reprimanded when he complained to Imran Khan, was sent higher in the order and failed? Why weren’t his motives questioned when his inept batting helped the opposition? He should have been axed a lot earlier and would have been done too had the Pakistan Cricket Board been serious in improving the game rather than improving player’s confidence.

Dropping three players on the basis of a coach’s report who was part of the problem isn’t the solution. Pakistan needs to rise from the rock bottom and make the cricketing world understand that it is one of the best teams in the world. Yes, the captain of ODI team Azhar Ali either needs to improve or pave way for Sarfaraz Ahmed because a) Sarfaraz has proved his credentials as a better captain in the shorter format and b) because stronger the head, better the side e.g. Pakistan’s Test squad under Misbah-ul-Haq. Ever wondered why Pakistan is at number three in Tests; because there is no Umar Akmal in the longer format and one must thank Mohsin Khan for that; the former coach was the one who dropped Umar from the Test side citing that he doesn’t have the ‘manners’ to don the whites. Did he see him moonlighting as a stage enthusiast at night is not the question; Mohsin saw through Umar’s facade and must be commended for it.

The fall of Captain Clueless and Company