PCB was wrong to give Misbah-ul-Haq so many roles: Aamir Sohail

Former Pakistan captain Aamir Sohail believes that former teammate Younis Khan’s appointment as the batting consultant is indicative of Misbah-ul-Haq’s weakness in this department.

Aamir Sohail felt that the Pakistan batsmen would find it difficult to share their weaknesses with a head coach who also happens to be the chief selector.

"The fact is that Misbah-ul-Haq for reasons best known to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), was given the roles of head coach and chief selector, and he was also looking after the position of batting coach. Many of us commented then that this was not a good idea as batsmen who are struggling in some aspect of their batting are unlikely to share their problems with the batting coach who happens to be the chief selector and the head coach as well,” Aamir Sohail wrote in his blog for PakPassion.net.

“In that context, Younis Khan’s appointment, whilst recognising his experience, is proof that the PCB are accepting the fact that they made the wrong decision by entrusting Misbah-ul-Haq with so many roles. What the PCB are implying is that Misbah is not a good enough batting coach which is why they had to bring in someone like Younis Khan into the picture as a batting consultant,” the former Pakistan opener wrote.

Pakistan have won six of their 15 matches across formats under the coaching of Misbah-ul-Haq since September 2019. In their recent tour of Australia, Pakistan were unable to win a single match as they lost both their Test matches by an innings margin and were also defeated in the T20I series with a 2-0 margin.

Aamir Sohail, who played 47 Tests and 157 ODIs for Pakistan, also felt that head coach Misbah-ul-Haq had been a defensive captain during his playing days and he should make sure that newly appointed limited-overs captain Babar Azam does not inculcate this trait from him. Under the guidance of Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan have lost 5 of their 8 T20Is.

“If Babar has been identified as Pakistan’s captain in at least 2 formats of the game, then it’s incumbent upon the PCB to help him become the best captain he can be. This can be achieved by identifying any weaknesses in his leadership qualities and by good mentoring. But if Misbah is to be Babar’s mentor, then we have a problem because he was himself criticised for being a defensive captain.

“The onus is on Misbah-ul-Haq to be honest about his own deficiencies as a captain and to make sure that Babar does not make the same mistakes he made, especially when it comes to making sure that the younger players are given good chances to ensure a brighter future for Pakistan cricket,” the 53-year-old stated.

Aamir Sohail also reflected on the future of veteran Pakistan all-rounders Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, saying that their replacements should be looked for in case the 2020 T20 World Cup is postponed. He said that the associations of Malik and Hafeez with the team will make no sense if the marque event is postponed until next year.