Strict orders given to senior players of Pakistan, not to give inputs to captain

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez in the recent press conference stated that according to guidelines and policy by their coach Mickey Arthur, none of the senior players has the right to advise or give inputs to the captain. Only if the captain takes the initiation of consulting them, only then are they allowed to dispense their advice to the captain.

Pakistan cricket had a go through a substantial amount of mistrust amongst the players, staff members, selectors and the administration, especially after their exit from the ICC World T20 Championship of 2016, which was held in India. Pakistan Cricket Board decided to sack the then coach Waqar Younis and appointed Mickey Arthur as the coach.

The senior players of the team were advised not to intervene in the decisions made by the captain unless asked by captain Sarfraz Ahmed. It was also said the captain would take full responsibility and strategies of Mickey Arthur and Sarfraz would be supreme. The move was made apparently to give mental space to the captain. Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik are the senior most players in the Pakistan side.

Hafeez defending his captain

“The fact is that this was a policy decision taken during the time when Waqar Younis was our head coach. It was decided then that only the captain and head coach will decide on the selection and strategy affairs of the team. Senior players will not give any input unless the captain approaches anyone for their advice.” said Hafeez told the media according to Oneindia.

“It was done to ensure that the captain was solely responsible for all decisions without any input from any senior players and if required he could himself ask for advice from other players, I was there available but it is the captain who is the one who calls the shot and he does what is best for the team in any given match,” Hafeez defended his captain when asked about not given a spell against India.