“Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence, and inspiration.” Robin S. Sharma, leadership expert and author.
Pakistan cricket is crying out for strong and visionary leaders. In a team sport like cricket, the captain is the heartbeat of the side. The man who leads the team must lead from the front, making an impact with his leadership. If he is a top performer, it greatly influences others and inspires them. These are hallmarks of a great captain. History shows that when captains rise to the occasion, teams often follow suit and silverware is not far behind. A good captain does not just steer the ship but also nurtures future leaders, taking the team to new heights.
From golden era to leadership vacuum
Pakistan cricket has been blessed with great captains like Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Mushtaq Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Misbahul Haq an others who not only helped achieve successes but also groomed new players under their wings. They built teams brick by brick and left a legacy that stood the test of time.
Pakistan cricket seems to have lost its way in terms of leadership. After the disastrous first-round exit from the 2023 ODI World Cup, Babar Azam was forced to step down from captaincy at all levels. He briefly returned to T20I captaincy but was removed after another failure and first-round exit from the 2024 T20I World Cup.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was handed the T20I captaincy but he too could not retain control. Mohammad Rizwan also served as a stopgap arrangement, while Salman Ali Agha emerged as a compromised candidate.
Despite his best efforts, Salman struggled to hit the ground running in the fast-paced T20 format and galvanise his troops. Even Shan Masood — a thoughtful cricketer and articulate leader — has fallen short in Test cricket.
Pakistan’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Bangladesh was a low point in Shan’s captaincy and so was a 1-1 result against the West Indies at home.
PSL missing the mark
The last two years have laid bare the cracks in Pakistan’s leadership pipeline. Sadly, both the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Super League franchises have failed to groom captains at various levels. The writing is on the wall — the system is not producing enough leaders ready for the big stage.
The reality is that only two of the eight captains in the 11th edition of PSL have any chance of leading Pakistan in future.
In contrast, the neighbouring Indian Premier League has all 10 local captains with nine of them potential captains of the country in future — a stark reminder that India is far ahead in leadership grooming.
Among PSL captains, Shaheen Shah Afridi (Lahore Qalandars) and Shadab Khan (Islamabad United) are viable long-term options. While Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi) and Mohammad Rizwan (Rawalpindi) cannot be ruled out, a step back rather than forward.
Missed opportunities and way forward
Questionable decisions by franchises have further muddied the waters. Hyderabad Kingsmen have surprisingly chosen Marnus Labuschagne as their skipper which defies logic. Australia — known for its red-ball exploits — has never led a T20 side and only played the format just four times in the last two years. His only Twenty20 international for Australia came in 2022 which proves his credentials in the format are well below merit.
Hyderabad has Saim Ayum as one potential candidate for Pakistan captaincy, provided he keeps his place which is endangered due to lack of runs. Young Irfan Niazi could have been another option, having led Pakistan to Rising Star Asia Cup to the title last year.
Multan Sultans have handed the reins to Ashton Turner who is one of the most successful captains in Australia’s T20 League, the Big Bash. Under Turner Perth Scorchers have won three of the five titles in their history.
Franchise owners are new as they have taken over from Tareen Group. A new owner will always be cautious with his approach and appointments. But had they chosen Sahibzada Farhan as leader it would have served Pakistan’s cause better. Farhan has been a key batter for Pakistan and is staking claims to lead Pakistan once Salman Agha relinquishes the charge or the PCB wants a new man to lead the T20I team. Farhan was not even chosen as vice-captain, a post which went to Shan Masood who too has little chance to play T20Is for Pakistan.
Mohammad Haris could have been a choice for Zalmi. The wicketkeeper batter has led Pakistan Shaheens successfuly and the responsibility of captaincy would have made him determined to improve his batting.
This aspect of grooming captains must be addressed by the Pakistan Cricket Board. Once it is done the next step should be to develop our coaches. PSL is a platform for Pakistan players, captains and coaches. It should fulfil this role which is much needed by Pakistan cricket.
