Saqlain Mushtaq comments on Pakistan’s white-ball captaincy debate

Former Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq shared his two cents on the ongoing debate regarding the white-ball captaincy of the national men’s team.

During an interview with a local cricket website, Mushtaq urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to do long-term planning while making decisions regarding the captaincy of the national cricket team.

Saqlain Mushtaq further added that the concerned authorities within the cricket board should be making decisions regarding the captaincy after analyzing players, who they think are capable enough to lead the team while responding to the calls for the ouster of current whit-ball captain Babar Azam.

“Many people are saying that he [Babar Azam] should quit captaincy and play as a regular player. But all these voices are coming from outside, from people who are watching and listening to things from the outside. These are comments from outsiders,” Mushtaq said.

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“We shouldn’t listen to the voices of those outside. The people inside, who are observing the situation from within, should see what’s really going on and decide who is capable of leading the team effectively.

“If you have to appoint a captain, do you look at the short term, long term, or mid-term? What are you considering when appointing a captain? We don’t seem to have a vision, we look at what’s going to happen tomorrow and appoint a captain, then change the team the next day. Because the people making these decisions don’t even know if they’ll be around tomorrow, there’s no plan for the long term,” he added.

Saqlain Mushtaq further backed his stance by citing the example of left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was removed as T20I captain after leading the national team in just one bilateral series.

“For example, Shaheen was appointed for the short term and he’s already out. Now Babar has come in for the short term, there’s been just one World Cup, and now he’ll be changed. Someone else will come, and then there’s the Champions Trophy, and after that, the T20 World Cup,” he added.

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