Xuhaib
International Coach
Seems it is all but confirmed Azhar ill take over from Misbah as the ODI skipper and then at the end of the year if he handles the job well he takes over from Misbah as the test leader aswell.
The general talk among Pakistan cricket circles is Azhar is almost a Misbah clone in not only his batting but general personalty as well and the board is very keen in continuing the stability that Misbah has brought over the last 5 years.
Over all I have been satisfied at how Misbah has gone about his job sure then team is not brimming with exciting talent as once it use to but the result especially in UAE (tests) where we get to play 60% of our cricket have been exceptional. If I was to be an adviser to Azhar this is what I would suggest to him.
I would not want him to tinker to much with the Misbah philosphy which I am sure he will not however there are couple of areas where adjustments should be made.
Induction of atleast one dynamic batsman most of Pakistan top 6 bat at the same pace so there is a need of a dynamic batsman in the middle that can break the monotony though brain dead Umer Akmal should not be the answer. Also try to fit couple of lefties in the top 6 Haris Sohail is a lefty looks like a good talent and could be the replacement for Misbah.
Pakistan spinners have done really well in recent times but pace bowling should never take a back seat for Pakistan we produce enough pace bowling talent that a 2nd choice pace attack was among the better bowling attacks in this world cup. Yes Misbah choice was limited as he inherited a team that lost its 2 best pace bowlers in one go and then Umer Gul knees were done by 2012 his 2 next pace bowlers Junaid and irfan also turned out to be highly injury prone however a lot of good fast bowlers were being neglected in his era and at times he opened the attack with Mohammad hafeez.
Not afraid to prepare more pacy tracks in UAE this will bring the Pakistani pacers bowlers in to play snd also prepare batsman when they play overseas. Maybe they can balance it out by having slow low tracks for tests while more pacer friendly tracks in odi's .Pakistan odi record in UAE is already very poor so no harm in changing the current formula.
I like Azhar as a cricketer and i hope he leads Pakistan with the same dignity as Misbah has done since the spot fixing episode.
The general talk among Pakistan cricket circles is Azhar is almost a Misbah clone in not only his batting but general personalty as well and the board is very keen in continuing the stability that Misbah has brought over the last 5 years.
Over all I have been satisfied at how Misbah has gone about his job sure then team is not brimming with exciting talent as once it use to but the result especially in UAE (tests) where we get to play 60% of our cricket have been exceptional. If I was to be an adviser to Azhar this is what I would suggest to him.
I would not want him to tinker to much with the Misbah philosphy which I am sure he will not however there are couple of areas where adjustments should be made.
Induction of atleast one dynamic batsman most of Pakistan top 6 bat at the same pace so there is a need of a dynamic batsman in the middle that can break the monotony though brain dead Umer Akmal should not be the answer. Also try to fit couple of lefties in the top 6 Haris Sohail is a lefty looks like a good talent and could be the replacement for Misbah.
Pakistan spinners have done really well in recent times but pace bowling should never take a back seat for Pakistan we produce enough pace bowling talent that a 2nd choice pace attack was among the better bowling attacks in this world cup. Yes Misbah choice was limited as he inherited a team that lost its 2 best pace bowlers in one go and then Umer Gul knees were done by 2012 his 2 next pace bowlers Junaid and irfan also turned out to be highly injury prone however a lot of good fast bowlers were being neglected in his era and at times he opened the attack with Mohammad hafeez.
Not afraid to prepare more pacy tracks in UAE this will bring the Pakistani pacers bowlers in to play snd also prepare batsman when they play overseas. Maybe they can balance it out by having slow low tracks for tests while more pacer friendly tracks in odi's .Pakistan odi record in UAE is already very poor so no harm in changing the current formula.
I like Azhar as a cricketer and i hope he leads Pakistan with the same dignity as Misbah has done since the spot fixing episode.
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