Only best managed Boards produce triumphant teams
The shocking defeat in Harare Test has shaken the entire cricketing fraternity. The former players and the commentariat are having a field day, with Misbah-ul-Haq’s docility as captain coming under heavy artillery fire. Najam Sethi, the caretaker PCB chairman, has lashed back at the critics, which was quite unnecessary for he should be the first to acknowledge that one should be expecting anything but bouquets at such a pathetic performance. Mr Sethi has gone after the courts as well – for staying his hand from functioning effectively. Here he is absolutely right. But both the critics and the cricketing establishment would do better to take a pause and hold the kneejerk reactions for the defeat merits a slightly more nuanced dissection and a more informed analysis. While it has to be granted that since his and Pakistan’s standout triumph in blanking out England, then the world’s top-ranked Test team, Misbah has failed in comprehending to diversify his tactics keeping the quality of opposition in view and the situations where going for the jugular may have yielded higher dividends. While it was alright to be defensive and wait for opportunities to latch onto against world class outfits, like England and South Africa, he should have shown a higher modicum of aggression where he could: against minnows like Zimbabwe. Then, while he has been quite regularly contributing with the bat, the method of grinding it out without rotating the strike has not been what one would attribute as leading from the front.
But this too needs to be acknowledged: this perhaps is the worst Pakistan team in living memory that Misbah has been asked to skipper – his own limitations brought in sharp relief by the limitations in resources at his disposal. With the exception of Younis Khan and Saeed Ajmal in batting and bowling, there is no world class entity in the eleven. Not a patch on the embarrassment of riches that we possessed in the 1990s. Yet that assembly of some of the most brilliant stars in cricketing firmament the instances of Team Pakistan being epitome of excellence and consistency were indeed few and far between. Above all, playing our entire cricket abroad and not getting the best of bargains in the ICC’s Future Tour Programme too has hurt us badly.
So, demonizing Misbah as the sum of our cricketing misfortunes would neither be just nor lead to the path to reform and rejuvenation. For this we have to look elsewhere. Our cricketing cupboard is bare because of mismanagement: right from the top, especially in the case of previous three chairmen – starting with Dr Nasim Ashraf, Ijaz Butt and Ch Zaka Ashraf, the middle named the worst of them all. To get back anywhere near the top, we need to remember that only best managed Boards produce triumphant teams on the back of the strength and efficiency of their all-round structures.
