Misbah has too much power: Abbas

Pakistan’s legendary batsman Zaheer Abbas, in an interview at the Defence Authority Golf Club, stated that the current head coach and chief selector of the national side, Misbahul Haq, has been granted too much power.

The Asian Bradman further revealed that he was baffled by the length of the contract received by the former captain.

“Misbah was excellent as captain. In his time Pakistan won many great matches and advanced in the rankings as well,” Abbas said. “The dual role however will grant him too much power. In a way Misbah has become the Chairman of the Board. I am baffled by his contract of three years. If he had performed well in the role, his contract should then have been extended.” 

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The legendary batsman further revealed that he had advised Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz to focus on captaining the limited-overs side. Abbas believed that the prolific batsman Babar Azam was next in line for the leadership role and would excel in that position.

“I had advised Sarfaraz to remain captain of the limited-overs format alone. Captaining in all three formats can be very hard for a player. I think the PCB’s decision is right,” he said. “Babar Azam can be the new Test captain. He is a great player and will prove to be a good captain as well. He has the capability to take the team forward.”

Abbas stated that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) required strict measures and effective implementation in order to avoid the current problem of players preferring limited –overs cricket over the Test format.

“PCB has to come up with some hard rules and then enforce them. They have to tell the players that if you want to play cricket for Pakistan, they have to be involved with Test cricket as well. Now it is easy for players to play Twenty20 Internationals and One-day internationals (ODIs) cricket and make money,” he said. “The Board should design strict rules and regulations to stop this from happening. They should also increase their match fees so that they can be provided with an incentive to feature in Test cricket”.

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The legendary former batsman was surprised with the introduction of the new domestic system which consists of six teams.

“Previously the domestic structure consisted of two teams from major cities like Lahore and Karachi. Now there are only six teams in total. I am surprised at this development. This is a new experiment. We will now have to see if this experiment is sustainable. I hope this system can produce the required results,” he said.

Abbas revealed that he felt saddened with the loss of jobs that has been resulted from the PCB’s decision to introduce a new domestic format.

“I have a feeling this system will affect the players negatively. The closing of departments has led to a loss of stable jobs for many cricketers. I am saddened by the loss of their livelihoods. These jobs provided a secure source of income for many players,” he concluded.