PAKISTAN Cricket Board (PCB) has named former Pakistan
captains Misbahul Haq and Waqar Younis as the head coach and bowling coach of the men in greens. Misbah has also been given an added responsibility of being the chief selector of the national side.
In our view, the PCB has made the best choice for the Greenshirts by preferring domestic over foreign coaches and the fruits of this will be visible in the near future. Though the appointment of Misbah has been criticized as he has no experience as a coach but one should not forget that he is the man who proved himself as the most successful captain of Pakistan National Cricket Team and it was under his captaincy that the national team also topped on the test cricket ranking. Both Misbah and Waqar have full understanding of modern day cricket requirements and we are confident that they will prove to be an asset for the team. The first assignment of Misbah-Waqar combination will be the upcoming three ODI and three T-Twenty home series against Sri Lanka. The duo’s first series in the World Test Championship will be in Australia where Pakistan will play two test matches and this is going to be a real test for the abilities and capabilities of Misbah and Waqar as to how they put in the best combination to give a tough time to the mighty Australians. As the relevancy has come back to the test cricket with the commencement of World Test Championship, focus of Misbah should be on establishing a separate team for the five-day cricket by inducting such batsmen in the team who have the temperament of playing longer version of the game. Similarly for the limited Overs games, hunt should be launched for the most suitable players. There is no dearth of talent in Pakistan and we understand the introduction of new domestic cricket infrastructure will help the PCB and the Selection Committee to trace the best. But it should be made abundantly clear on the players that merit and their consistency in the ground will be the only hallmark of selection in the national cricket team.
