Not many of the voices in Pakistan cricket are those of reason. Misbahul Haq’s was one of the rare few who was. However, in his final press conference, the outgoing skipper may have undone all those years of reputation-building.
Regarded as the epitome of credibility, Misbah may have let himself, and those who love him for speaking the truth, down by trying to deviate responsibility away from himself.
It was very unlike Misbah when he stated that the selection committee is the final authority as far as the selections were concerned and he was asked only for his advice. The 40-year-old added that both coach and captain should be empowered with more responsibility but are not.
Misbah said that the blame should not be placed at the doorstep of one individual or aspect of the system, but rather the entire system is to be blamed. It is perhaps ironic then that the skipper tried to lay the blame on the selection committee alone, rather than shouldering it along with the rest of the team management — which included Misbah and head coach Waqar Younis and his support staff.
If he was not happy with the team selected for the World Cup, Misbah should have said so before going to New Zealand. The selectors would then have been forced to take his input into account.
If he was being treated as a dummy captain, then he should have had the guts to resign, instead of waiting for the team to fail before speaking up.
However, it does not look like there is truth in Misbah’s claims either. He did come to Karachi with Waqar to give gave his input in the selection of the final-15. On their demands, rookie Ehsan Adil was inducted into the squad, but the selection committee did decide to not include Nasir Jamshed, Bilawal Bhatti and Sohail Tanvir.
Misbah and Waqar had said they would not play all-rounder Anwar Ali if he was selected by the committee. Hence, Anwar failed to make the cut. But just like with their demands of inclusions, the committee refused to exclude one player that Misbah and Waqar wanted out — a certain Wahab Riaz.
When Junaid Khan was ruled out, Misbah and Waqar forced the recall of Bhatti with the demand that he will play all matches against New Zealand. But Bhatti failed to make an impression and was sent back and another one of their favourites, Rahat Ali, was called instead.
When Muhammad Hafeez was ruled out, the touring selection committee called Jamshed as the replacement and once again Misbah’s and Waqar’s wishes were fulfilled. Misbah’s claims, therefore, do not have a leg to stand on.
If anything, Misbah and Waqar can be blamed for their near criminal misuse of the resources available to them. Younus Khan was made the scapegoat by asking to open against India because the team management did not have any plan B. Then, in-form Sarfraz Ahmed was forced to sit out to accommodate Jamshed, who failed badly.
While Misbah deflected questions regarding Sarfraz with sarcasm by asking whether he should open with Irfan, Waqar was left embarrassed after he claimed he did not know Sarfraz was an opener.
Moin and company had sent Sarfraz as the third opener but he was played only when the team management had no choice.
Younus scored a crucial 37 against South Africa but was dropped to keep Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood, who Waqar wants to be the new ODI captain.
The selection committee should not be made the scapegoat in the whole episode — nor should any one individual as Misbah rightly pointed out.
However, the team management must be held accountable for their actions as well — blatantly making rash and costly decisions throughout the World Cup.
If Moin and fellow selectors are being shown the door, then Waqar and his support staff should also be given like treatment. Misbah may have been one of Pakistan’s better servants but his final act may affect his reputation.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2015.
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