Desperate times for Pakistan call for a true leader

With Afridi feeling the heat of captaincy, it is up to Younis their coach, to nurture and inspire the talent pool.

CRICKET-ENG-PAK-CORRUPTION

Twenty20 cricket always seemed custom-built for the mercurial talents of the Pakistan players.

Unlike longer versions of the game, T20 rewards a haphazard disposition and encourages inventiveness and creativity.

Pakistan's reputation for impulsive and erratic cricket always seemed less of a hindrance in the shortest format and their Twenty20 World Cup success, achieved in June 2009 in England, was always somewhat inevitable.

However, appalling recent form suggests that not all is harmonious within the squad and their recent series against New Zealand, when they lost the first two matches to a weak Kiwi side, only served to illustrate the deficiencies that have plagued the team ever since those heady days of 2009.

It seems almost inconceivable that a team that lost just six out of their first 23 T20 games has now lost six of the last seven.

Questions will be asked about Shahid Afridi's captaincy and whether he is the right person for the job.

The enigmatic qualities that make Afridi such an explosive and exciting cricketer to watch are the same qualities that make his leadership questionable.

His own indifferent form with the bat, along with inexcusable public criticism of fellow players and an inability to adapt to changing dynamics in the field, also remain a cause for concern.

Unfortunately, other potential captaincy options remain unconvincing.

Among senior players, Younus Khan seems the most obvious candidate. He led Pakistan to glory in England two years ago, yet now seems unsuited to the hustle and bustle of T20.

Shoaib Akhtar, a thinking cricketer, seems comfortable acting as mentor to younger players without the added burden of an official leadership role.

Lesser lights such as Mohammad Hafeez or Saeed Ajmal are possible alternatives. Hafeez, in particular, looks to be maturing as a player and brings a calm and studied approach to the game.

This would be in stark contrast to Afridi's swagger and bravado and could potentially inspire a similar shift in attitude that Misbah-ul-Haq seems to have brought to the Pakistani Test side.

With pace prodigy Mohammad Aamer suspended on spot-fixing charges, and Abdul Razzaq, the all-rounder, looking much more at home with bat in hand, Pakistan's pace bowling stocks look under strength and depleted.

It has been difficult to ignore the shocking fall from grace of Umar Gul. His slump in form is particularly worrisome and is in sharp contrast to his heroics of the past two or three years.

An inability to trouble batsmen on unresponsive surfaces, plus a lack of confidence over selection, has left him a shadow of his former self and far from the player who was widely considered as one of the leading exponents of T20 bowling in the world.

The batting has also been discouraging. The resurgent Hafeez aside, Pakistan's top order has looked brittle and uncertain.

The middle order has been prone to collapse at the merest hint of pressure.

Batting capitulations have long been the scourge of Pakistan cricket, but it is disheartening to see that old habits still die hard even in this shortest form of the game.

As is often the case with any problem in Pakistan cricket, selection incompetence and whimsical management must take part of the blame here too.

Batsmen much more suited to Test cricket have been thrust into the bluster and frenzy of T20 with seeming disregard for suitable technique or temperament.

Too much is being asked from gifted young players such as Fawad Alam and Asad Shafiq, who seem to lack confidence and the capacity to execute their respective roles in the batting order.

Despite these problems, there have been some promising signs that Pakistan can still be a force in the shortest form of the game.

Their annihilation of New Zealand in Christchurch in the third T20 encounter, albeit a dead rubber, proved what a destructive force they can still be, and emphasised how important Afridi and Razzaq are to team fortunes. The margin of victory was astounding. Pakistan triumphed by 103 runs, the biggest ever win in a T20 encounter involving two Test playing nations.

The emergence of Ahmed Shahzad as an opening batsman suggests that Pakistan are still capable of producing players with enough natural flair to decimate any bowling attack in the game.

Also, the continued good form of Hafeez and Abdul Rehman, the left-arm spinner, plus the tidy glove work of part-time wicketkeeper Umar Akmal, give cause for hope.

Waqar Younis, the coach, remains a respected and revered figure. He has managed to steer Pakistan through the most troubling and controversial period in their cricketing history.

His inspiration will be vital if team fortunes are to change and it will be imperative that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) provides him with their full support.

However, he needs to be supported by qualified batting and fielding coaches, areas where his own knowledge and experience may let him down.

The fleeting nature of T20 cricket means it is doubtful any team will ever dominate long term. Regardless, Pakistan have the player resources and capability to perform consistently at the very top level.

There does not need to be wholesale change, just a willingness to nurture a positive environment in which players can feel secure at their given roles within the team.

That will require some tough decisions regarding leadership and the implementation of a reasoned and consistent selection process. Until that happens, Pakistan will continue their downward slide and remain cricket's greatest underachievers.

Karel Brooke is a writer for PakPassion.net