Misbah vs Azhar - Appreciation, retaliation, and a response
There has been plenty of retaliation to my post comparing performances under Misbah and Azhar Ali. Most of the retaliation has come from Misbah fans, which is understandable. Instead of replying to each one individually, which I tried to do yesterday but failed to get the message across and in process got called all sorts of inventive names like "a well documented Afridiot", I thought it best to reiterate some points in one place...
1. The entire article is an analysis of the performance of batsmen in ODIs. There is no mention of bowling performance. The fact the Misbah was excellent in how he used bowlers in ODIs holds no bearing on how he crippled our batting in ODIs.
2. Being a critic of Misbah does not automatically make one a fan of Afridi, and vice versa. It is quite humanly possible to love both, hate both, or just appreciate certain qualities of both while criticizing other things about both. "Humanly" being the key word.
3. While openly blaming Misbah for destroying our ODI batting over 4 years, I have also publicly hailed his test leadership, talked of how he is the best thing to happen to Pakistan test cricket ever, and appreciated his utilization of bowlers in ODIs while acknowledging that most of our ODI victories under Misbah were thanks to bowling efforts. That does not make me a Misbah hater when I say that he was the single reason for our regression in ODIs between 2011 and 2015.
4. If the same Misbah fans can praise him for taking Pakistan to number 3 in the test rankings, shouldn't they also criticize him for taking Pakistan to number 8 in the ODI rankings? Just common sense, isn't it?
5. Its interesting how so many people blame Afridi, Malik, and Hafeez for having captaincy aspirations and underperforming under Misbah. Isn't it so ironic that despite that, Hafeez is Pakistan's leading run scorer under Misbah, and that besides some outstanding bowling efforts, most of Pakistan's ODI victories under Misbah were a result of outstanding performances from Hafeez and Afridi. In fact Afridi's numbers in ODI wins under Misbah's captaincy are exceptional!
6. The problem I have was never the sacking of Afridi as captain of the ODI team. The problem was appointing Misbah as ODI captain. The person he replaced and alternative options are irrelevant. Misbah was the wrong choice as ODI captain.
7. When Misbah took over the Test team in 2010, it was in turmoil. Yes, it was facing the worst scandal in its history. When Misbah took over the ODI team in 2011, they were World Cup Semi Finalists, had won their last two ODI series vs NZ (3-2) and vs WI (3-2), and lost the two ODI series prior to that vs SA (3-2) and vs Eng (3-2). The ODI team was NOT in any turmoil.
8. The argument against sample size is something that is partially accurate. I say partially because I can agree to revisit the performances of Hafeez, Malik, Haris, and Azhar after a year or two when they have faced tougher opposition in tougher conditions, and when they have played more ODIs under Azhar's captaincy. I also say partially because the sample size in no way changes the fact that in 4 years under Misbah, Pakistan scored > 280 only 5 times and chased > 250 only twice, yet Pakistan has done the same in only 4 months under Azhar Ali.
In fact, last night they just completed a third successful chase above 250, making it more times than they ever managed under Misbah.
Why is it so difficult to understand that in 4 years under Misbah, Pakistan also played in batting paradises, they also faced Bangladesh and Zimbabwe (in fact more times than they have done now), they played against even weaker opposition like Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland, etc., and yet they managed a score > 280 only 5 times.
9. For those saying that beating Sri Lanka is no big deal because they are a team in transition with the retirements of Sangakkara and Jayawardene, what about our team? Aren't we also a new team with the retirements of Misbah and Afridi, the absence of Saeed Ajmal, and the ban on Hafeez?
Moreover, it is our batting that is winning the matches and the presence of Sanga and Mahela would not have had much of an impact on our batting.
10. Last night's win further strengthened my argument regarding a changing mindset within the Pakistan camp. In his post match interview, Ahmed Shehzad clearly said "we are trying to change the way we used to bat", highlighting that he and other batsmen are making a conscious effort to bat more in line with the requirements of modern day ODI cricket. Shehzad's innings was testament to that fact.
11. Besides the little retaliation by some, there's been plenty of appreciation for the article as well. Here's a piece by Ahmer Naqvi aka Karachi Khatmal, which further illustrates the differences between Misbah's and Azhar's ODI teams.
Anyhow, I guess haters will be haters, I can't really attempt to change their mindset, but I did want to clarfiy certain points, which I have done above to the best of my ability.
Ok rant over, thanks.