LAHORE – Former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif believes that the ‘disagreements’ within the Pakistan Cricket Board have led it to withhold the name of the captain for the next month’s World Cup.
“Other boards have named their skippers with the squad, yet the Pakistan Cricket Board has chosen not to select a captain which is extremely strange. However I think the reason for this is down to the disagreements within the Board and the fact that the team management and the Board don’t want Shahid Afridi to be selected as captain for the World Cup,” PakPassion quoted Latif, as saying.
“The Board are also of course waiting to see how the one day series in New Zealand develops, but I get the impression that there are also disagreements amongst the players with Shahid Afridi which is a sad state of affairs for Pakistan,” he added. The captaincy issue has attracted a huge debate in Pakistan over who should be leading the team in the World Cup- incumbent one-day captain Shahid Afridi or Test skipper Misbahul Haq.
Whilst Misbah’s fortunes have been favourable- having scored six consecutive half centuries in his last six Test innings and also having led Pakistan to a Test series draw against South Africa and a Test series victory against New Zealand- Afridi’s luck has turned for the worse with one-day series defeats to South Africa and England as well as a crushing defeat in the first one-dayer against New Zealand.
Latif though feels that the PCB has handled the issue of captaincy poorly, and if Misbah was indeed the man whom the board wanted to lead the side at the World Cup, then he should have been given the job earlier. “The captain for the World Cup should be Shahid Afridi, but if the Board had wanted to select Misbah as skipper then they should have appointed him much earlier instead of this indecision weeks before the World Cup. It’s really surprising to see what’s going on,” he said.
“Pakistan cannot be written off as the format suits them. They are a team, who on their day are capable of beating anyone and once the quarterfinals start, then it’s a straight knockout and it all depends on the team that performs on the day. The knockout stage is where Pakistan could excel. Two good performances in the knockout stage and Pakistan could find themselves in the World Cup final,” said the former skipper. He further said that selectors have made a mistake by leaving out experienced batsman Mohammad Yousuf from the 15-man squad for the World Cup starting February 19.
“The squad is balanced, but I feel selectors have made a mistake by leaving out Mohammad Yousuf. I would have chosen Yousuf ahead of Sohail Tanvir,” Latif said. Latif, who will be seen as the Afghanistan coach in the World Cup starting February 19, also feels that the delay in naming the captain will create a disharmony in the team. Latif said that some of the big names in the team will have to raise their game and picked Umar Akmal as the player to watch out for.
“The World Cup is a time for heroes to be made. Pakistan’s strongest World Cup squad was undoubtedly the 1999 World Cup squad which lost in the final to Australia. Pakistan played their best World Cup under Wasim Akram in 1999,” he added. “Umar can show once again that he is one of the best players in the Pakistan team at the moment. He is not being allowed to play his natural game. He should be allowed to play his natural attacking game,” Latif said.
The former wicketkeeper, however, is doubtful about veteran all-rounder Abdul Razzaq’s role in the side. “Saeed Ajmal will be a key performer, but I have concerns over Abdul Razzaq at the moment though as his role in the side is not clear. He’s not completing 10 overs, so he should therefore be played as a batting all-rounder, instead of a bowling all-rounder. His role in the team is confusing me.”
Pakistan are in Group A alongside Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya. Pakistan open their campaign against Kenya at Hambantota, Sri Lanka, February 23.
