LAHORE: Pakistan’s most successful captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been tipped to play a dual role as chief selector-cum-head coach under the new model being introduced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), well informed sources told Dawn on Thursday.
In this regard a development was also seen on Thursday when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed Misbah as the camp-commandant for the pre-season training camp being held at the NCA in Lahore from Aug 22 to Sept 7.
It is learnt that Misbah himself selected the players for the training camp and now he will also coach them so it may also be a test for him to prove his credentials for the dual role that he is likely to be assigned now.
PCB set to introduce new model of domestic cricket soon
It may be mentioned here that in his last media talk with a small group of journalists in Lahore, managing director Wasim Khan had disclosed that the PCB is considering three models for the selection panel of the senior team; the first one is the existing one comprising of chairman and three or four members of the selection committee, the second one is to appoint a chief selector only and to give extra role to the head coaches of the six provincial teams in the domestic season who will be asked to also perform as selectors and recommend the names of talented players to chief selector, while the third model is that only one person will play dual role of chief selector and head coach to whom all the head coaches of the six provincial teams will report and give feed back about the talented players.
Sources said that the PCB had decided to adopt the third model and it would also be helpful in making a specific authority/person accountable in case of defeats of the Pakistan team.
It may be mentioned here that in the past, many players who had been picked up by the selectors in the Pakistan squad did not get even one match on the tour because the head coach and the captain used to have the authority to select the playing XI and overlooked certain players. And in case of defeats, the selectors and the team management would start the blame-game as none of the two parties were ready to accept the responsibility for the team’s poor show.
In a recent such example, young paceman Muhammad Hasnain was selected in the World Cup squad for the last edition held in England and Wales and was hailed by ex-Chief Selector Inzamamul-Haq as a secret weapon. However, the team management in England did not select the fiery pacer in any match of the mega event and he returned home as a joy rider. Misbah, as captain of the Pakistan team, earned a good name for himself and it was under his leadership that Pakistan earned top spot in Test cricket in 2016. It must be mentioned here that Misbah took over the reins of the Pakistan team in a very difficult period when the infamous spot-fixing scandal at Lord’s in 2010 involving then skipper Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir had completely tarnished the Pakistan team’s reputation.
Then chief selector Muhammad Ilyas had suggested Misbah’s name as captain at the time and the then chairman PCB Ijaz Butt went ahead with the bold decision by appointing the right-hander as skipper. Misbah vindicated Butt’s faith in him and took the team to dizzying heights with his cool attitude and outstanding performance on the field. He eventually ended up as the country’s best ever captain, winning 26 Test matches which is a Pakistan record. – Cricinfo
