Javed Miandad feels Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has been overburdened with dual roles

It is fair to say Pakistan cricket is at its nadir right now. The year 2019 has been pretty forgettable so far. Naturally, every failed World Cup campaign brings with itself a barrage of criticism from all corners of Pakistan. Fans, pundits were calling for the removal of the entire management, coaching staff and captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.

The Inzamam-ul-Haq-led selection panel and the Mickey Arthur-led coaching staff were ousted. The former captain Misbah-ul-Haq was made in charge of both the selection panel as well as the coaching staff. A new era began under him but the fortunes didn’t change.

But, then Sri Lanka happened! The young side humbled Pakistan- the No.1 ranked T20I side- 0-3 in front of their own fans. Following the whitewash, fans and pundits are at it again. And, this time Misbah is under scrutiny; not only because of the loss or the team selection but purely because of the magnanimity of the responsibility that has been laid on him.

Javed Miandad urges PCB to give more authority to the former local greats

A lot of Pakistani former cricketers like Ramiz Raja, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan have been vocal against overburdening Misbah. While Ramiz had suggested that Pakistan needs a dynamic power-hitting coach in T20Is, another former great, Javed Miandad, in an interview with APP, has now urged the PCB to appoint middle-order batsman Faizal Iqbal as the batting coach.

Iqbal has played 26 Tests and 18 ODIs for Pakistan between 2001-2010. He is remembered for his match-winning 139-run knock against India in Karachi in 2006. Iqbal has served as the batting coach for PSL franchise Karachi Kings and the Maratha Arabians in the T10 League. The 37-year-old had previously applied for the post but it turned out to be unfruitful.

“I think that the board has overburdened Misbah by assigning him the dual responsibilities of the head coach and chief selector. The board needs to be a bit realistic and think out of the box by appointing a specialized batting coach. I think the board was reluctant to hire Faisal due to his relationship with me.

But if you speak on merit, he deserves to serve as Pakistan’s batting coach. Faisal has done coaching courses from England and is the best possible option for the batting coach position, ” Miandad said.

A plethora of former Pakistani cricketers feel that PCB should use their services more to help and develop budding cricketers. Javed Miandad echoed similar sentiments while also mentioning how he used to hone Inzamam-ul-Haq in the early stages of their career during his time as a coach. Miandad also felt that underfire skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed is still the best man to lead Pakistan.

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