Former Pakistan opener Aamer Sohail has stated that the appointment of Younis Khan as the team’s batting coach is indicative of the fact that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could not really trust Misbah-ul-Haq with the role.
Notably, Misbah was the batting coach of the side while having two other positions with him and Sohail pointed out that batsmen may not be comfortable sharing their problems with him as Misbah doubled up as the chief selector and head coach and hence Younis’ appointment was the right move.
“The fact is that Misbah-ul-Haq for reasons best known to the PCB, was given the roles of head coach and chief selector, and he was also looking after the position of batting coach,” Sohail wrote on PakPassion.net.
“Many of us commented then that this was not a good idea as batsmen who are struggling in some aspect of their batting are unlikely to share their problems with the batting coach who happens to be the chief selector and the head coach as well.”
“In that context, Younis Khan’s appointment, whilst recognising his experience, is proof 0-2 that the PCB are accepting the fact that they made the wrong decision by entrusting Misbah with so many roles. What the PCB are implying is that Misbah is not a good enough batting coach which is why they had to bring in someone like Younis Khan into the picture as a batting consultant.”
Sohail also said that Misbah’s past record of being a tad too defensive as a skipper may make him a bad mentor for somebody like a Babar Azam, who is currently the skipper of the limited-overs squad.
“If Babar has been identified as Pakistan’s captain in at least two formats of the game, then it’s incumbent upon the PCB to help him become the best captain he can be. This can be achieved by identifying any weaknesses in his leadership qualities and by good mentoring. But if Misbah is to be Babar’s mentor, then we have a problem because he was himself criticised for being a defensive captain,” he said.
“The onus is on Misbah to be honest about his own deficiencies as a captain and to make sure that Babar does not make the same mistakes he made, especially when it comes to making sure that the younger players are given good chances to ensure a brighter future for Pakistan cricket.”