Pakistan selectors' decision to delay naming the captain of their World Cup team has, it seems, plunged the team into yet another controversy.
Many of the players, including coach Waqar Younis, are upset over the decision and he made his sentiments public. His statement has irked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which already has a gag order in place on players and officials going to the media since the spot-fixing scandal broke sometime back.
Younis, who is known for his no-nonsense approach and candid views, has worked hard to transform the team into a winning unit during the New Zealand tour. The board, in its eagerness to enforce their policies, immediately issued a notice to Younis over his statement.
Younis is keen not to divide the players into two camps — one supporting Shahid Afridi, the one-day captain and another for Misbah ul-Haq. Interestingly, Haq after leading Pakistan to a draw over South Africa (in the UAE) and a series win against New Zealand in Test matches has emerged as a strong contender for the post.
Great tour
Afridi supporters feel that Haq has been named vice-captain for the one-day series against New Zealand to unnecessarily put pressure on Afridi.
The impact of all this has resulted in Pakistan, which was having a great tour in New Zealand, losing the first one-day match by nine wickets in Wellington. Haq top-scored in the match with an elegant half century while Afridi fell for just 15 runs and didn't do much with the ball.
One of the reasons for not naming Afridi as the captain is his outspoken ways which has irritated the PCB many times. To add to Afridi's misery, he has also been struggling for form.
Another factor going Haq's way is his calm approach. He is easily the most articulate player in the team (he holds a Masters degree in Business Management) and the PCB believes that Haq can lift the sagging image of the team and should be able to handle the media pressure successfully.
