ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi feels no other player comes close to skipper Misbah-ul-Haq in terms of mental ability, discipline and batting saying the green-shirts Pakistan needed a captain like him.
Sethi said everyone criticized my decision to persist with Misbah by saying he is fine as Test captain, but not ODI captain. "There were already a few contenders in the team, who wanted to become Pakistan's captain," he said while talking to a private news channel adding Shahid Afridi and Ahmed Shehzad also wanted to be Pakistan's captain.
Sethi said there was division in the team because of this and Misbah was not getting full backing from his players. "I interviewed some of the players unofficially to check and observe how deep they were into the water," he said.
Sethi said he observed their (Players) mentality, sentiments and approach towards cricket and then made the decision that Misbah is head over shoulders above the rest. "Misbah has some shortcomings, but it can be rectified and Pakistan needs a captain like him, who could hold on his own in the ground," he said.
Sethi said the PCB wanted a strong coach with Misbah, who gets respect from all team members so that's why Waqar Younis was chosen for the job. "We had a discussion with Waqar regarding captaincy and he was of the same opinion of continuing with Misbah as captain," Sethi said.
Sethi said what we are looking today is a team effort. "There have been good developments and managerial decisions, which resulted in positive influence on the cricket team," he said.
Sethi said there has been continuity and stability in the PCB. "No policy has been changed since I was the chairman," he said.
Sethi said our youngsters have grand masters with them. "They have the master of spin bowling Mushtaq Ahmed, master of fast bowling Waqar Younis, master of batting Grant Flower and our training and fielding coach Luden," he said.
Sethi said we are getting best advices from batting coach Grant Flower. "Waqar Younis also praised the work Grant Flower has done thus far," he said adding Mushtaq advised the bowlers not to look for wickets, but to bowl maiden overs, which will frustrate the batsmen into making mistakes.
Sethi said Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali and Imran Khan were accurate with their bowling.
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