How can the Pakistan selectors and team management justify their positions?

When a die hard eternally optimistic Pakistan cricket fan gives up, it pretty much shows how sad the state of affairs is in Pakistan cricket. I can’t watch the Pakistan ODI team any more.Since Ijaz Butt committed the single biggest mistake ever in the history of cricket in Pakistan by removing Shahid Afridi from the helm of Pakistan’s ODI team and making Misbah its captain, Pakistan’s ODI cricket has suffered immensely.

His supporters will always talk about the Asia Cup win and the amazing series win over India at the end of 2012, but that is not enough.

We have been humiliated 4-0 by England and 3-1 by Sri Lanka, we have lost ODI series to Australia and South Africa, and we have just been miserably embarrassed in the Champions Trophy.

The Asia Cup, the series win in India, and the 4-1 domination of Sri Lanka at the end of 2011 are the only 3 major ODI victories that Misbah’s ODI team can boast of.

Take a closer look and you will find out that it is the same set of players that led Pakistan to those ODI wins – Shahid Afridi, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal and of course Misbah.

These are your match winners.

What the other players are doing in the XI, or for that matter even in the squad, is beyond me.

Pakistan’s utterly disgraceful ODI performances over the past two years have nothing to do with the captaincy, the presence of Misbah, or a defensive mindset.

The foremost reason for these horrid ODI performances is the selection.

The selectors who select the squad, along with Misbah and Whatmore who select the XI, are all at fault.

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Mindboggling to see players like Shoaib Malik continue to play every single ODI despite not putting up even one half decent performance for over 3 years. I do not understand how he makes it to the squad in the first place, let alone the playing XI.

The same is the case regarding Imran Farhat who has been torturing us for 12 years now. I have been watching this sorry batsman since 2001 and there has been absolutely no change in the way he looks, bats, and loses his wicket – it was s**t in 2001 and it is s**t now in 2013.

When will the selectors realize that both Malik and Farhat are mediocre cricketers, domestic bashers, and no good for international cricket?

I really do feel that the average public is far smarter than those people warming the selectors seats in the PCB.

What is even more disturbing is that players like Malik and Farhat continue to keep getting their chances while promising batsmen like Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, and Haris Sohail do not even make it to the squads.

The treatment of Umar Akmal is a sorry tale, while Haris Sohail probably does not understand what more he needs to do to break into the team.

Much like Shoaib Malik doesn’t understand what he has to do to get the axe!

The selectors and the team management have committed so many blunders in the past 2 years that it is quite inexplicable how they continue to hold their positions.

1. How can you drop Umar Akmal, first from the playing XI and then from the squad, while he is your top ranked ODI batsman and averages 40 in the 30 ODIs that he has played under Misbah?

2. How can you drop Azhar Ali from the ODI team after he has averaged 41 in 14 ODIs under Misbah? I understand that he may not have the best strike rate in the world but for a team that struggles to play 50 overs these days, a batsman who can stand his ground for a long time should be a blessing.

3. How can you drop Shahid Afridi, not once but twice from the ODI team, but continue to select Shoaib Malik?

4. How can you drop Nasir Jamshed, who averages 46+ in 20 ODIs under Misbah, for the last 2 ODIs against South Africa and play Imran Farhat in his place?

5. How can you drop Asad Shafiq for the Champions Trophy match against South Africa, yet play both Shoaib Malik and Imran Farhat?

6. How can you not find a wicket keeper to replace Kamran Akmal?

7. I agree with the decision to drop Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi, but I don’t understand how they can be axed when players like Shoaib Malik and Imran Farhat are in the team?

8. Are the stats shown above only understood by the public? Are the selectors really that illiterate?

So many questions, absolutely no answers, and yet no accountability for the selectors, coach, or captain.

Sad.