Former Pakistani captains call for change in captaincy and coach

Karachi: Former captains and players reacted strongly to Pakistan`s 1-4 debacle in the one-day series against South Africa with some of them calling for a change in the captaincy as well as the coach.

"Misbah is a spiritless captain and that is hurting the team and our cricket. I don`t think there is any justification now for the board to retain him any further atleast in one-day matches," former fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar said on Geo News channel. Former captain, Muhammad Yousuf also blamed Misbah for the current crisis in the national team. "I would hold Misbah responsible for the losing mentality we have developed in one-day cricket. He has not done good to the team. There is a need to bring in new faces and a new leadership," Yousuf said. Former captain, Rashid Latif said he sensed there were problems in the team with signs that groupings in the dressing room had started again. "I say this with experience in the past whenever we had an atmosphere of groupings we lost but when we were one and played as a unit we could beat anyone," Latif said. He said if they were problems in the team and if the players were not relaxed or comfortable to give their best or feel secure then the management was to blame and there should be changes. He also lashed out at the cricket board for playing a negative role in interfering in selection matters and encouraging such an environment in the team. "People are not fools, the way they are treating Asad Shafiq despite his performances. There is no justification for playing Sohail Tanvir and Umar Amin today. You can see the signs that all is not well in the team. We need to clean up this system." Akhtar and Yousuf were unanimous that either former captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq or former Australian opener, Justin Langer were the best men now to take control of the team. "In Pakistan, coaches with little international experience themselves never succeed. You need coaches for our team people like Inzamam or Langer who have played lot of cricket for their country and know what top cricket is all about. Tell me how many coaches with little international experience have been successful at the top level," Yousuf said. Akhtar said Misbah had introduced a defensive and bottled up environment and culture in the team and there was need for changes in the management. "We need to bring in honest, sincere and dedicated people into our system and management. People with narrow minds and personal agendas are ruining our cricket at every level and this culture is now visible in the team as well. "Players are only worried about getting into the team and than about earning money and are not playing for personal and national pride," he said.