Misbah`s ‘confidence shaken’ after loss of power to Hafeez

Lahore: Pakistan`s Test and One-day International captain Misbah-ul-Haq is in a difficult spot after being forced to surrender his powers of selecting the playing XI to T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez.

According to sources, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has delivered a clear message to the team management that T20 captain Hafeez is the right man to consult with because he is the future captain of Pakistan for all the three formats and should be encouraged to take decisions to give him more confidence, reports The Dawn. PCB`s message has shaken Misbah`s confidence, but he is simply following the orders without showing any real resistance in order to save his skin, sources said. They further said head coach Dav Whatmore has also been instructed to consult Hafeez in matters of selection and strategy for every match. Sources further said PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf is unhappy with Misbah`s captaincy. They revealed that the playing XI for the last ODI match against Australia in the UAE was primarily selected by Hafeez, while national selector Saleem Jaffar and coach Whatmore did not have much input in it. Misbah has led Pakistan in 17 Test matches, winning nine, losing just two and drawing the other six. Misbah`s success rate in both the ODIs and T20s is close to 75 percent, which is fairly good, the paper said. ANI