This space has endorsed Misbah’s involvement with the national cricket side. There is no doubting that his is the finest brain to grace Pakistan cricket – especially since the turn of the century. And while we cannot comment on Misbah taking over the reins in whatever capacity he’s eventually given until it’s finalized, it makes absolute sense to bring him to the helm.
However, Misbah brought the rumour mill to a standstill on Wednesday when he said that he hadn’t actually applied for the position of the head coach.
At a press conference at the National Cricket Academy Misbah said he is focusing on the camp, especially the centrally contracted players, and working on ensuring that the players are at the peak of their fitness.
Now, this could mean many things. First, that he might actually be appointed the chief selector to replace Inzamam-ul-Haq. Or that he might be persuaded later to apply for the coach’s position. Or the unlikeliest scenario where he mightn’t actually get any of the full-time positions.
In any case, we wouldn’t endorse any individual simultaneously working as the coach and the selector – not even Misbah.
Having Misbah in either of the two capacities could help Pakistan overcome recent setbacks. There are few people with better knowledge of domestic circuit having been a part of it for the past two decades. He’s still playing at the local level, on multiple tiers, not only to pursue his unquenchable passion for cricket, but also to help propose ways to improve the sport at the grassroots.
Hence, as a selector, he’d be better placed than anyone else to pick the best, more so than others who might have last played on the circuit over a decade ago. In fact, as a captain, Misbah was always influential in unearthing those doing well in the first-class circuit.
As a coach, Misbah has already proven his credentials having won the Pakistan Super League twice with Islamabad United in a player-coach capacity. Even during his time as the captain of the Pakistan cricket side, his strategizing was unparalleled and was a major reason behind Pakistan’s successes – especially in Test cricket.
While Misbah has many critics in the limited-overs domain, many do tend to overlook some of his achievements. He was the first Asian captain to win an away ODI series in South Africa, in addition to being only the second Pakistani captain to win the Asia Cup. He even led Pakistan to an away ODI series win against an Indian side that was at the peak of their powers.
Let’s not forget that these achievements came with perhaps the least talented pool of players that Pakistan has had in decades. Not to mention that the batch that graduated from the PSL hadn’t joined the national side at the time.
In any case, Misbah undisputedly remains the most successful Test captain for Pakistan. And that’s the format that requires the most rebuilding.
Pakistan have suffered defeats in the UAE against Sri Lanka and New Zealand and back-to-back years – their first ever in the Emirates. Pakistan had managed to create a fortress in the UAE under Misbah and the team needs to go back to being close to unbeatable in home conditions as cricket gradually transitions from the Emirates to Pakistan.
eedless to say in whatever capacity he is engaged, Misbah will serve Pakistan well – as he has done in the past.