MANY people queried my decision to apply for the head coaching job for Pakistan. After their recent whitewash of England, you know why.
I always knew Pakistan had a very talented squad. I just thought that when three players got caught for match fixing, no player would get involved again and the team would play to its potential. If any Pakistan player gets caught again, surely the country will be banned from international cricket for many years. So I felt the timing was right for someone to come in and get the players prepared and let them go and play some aggressive cricket. Pakistan might have surprised a few people with their performances, but not me.
Australia and Pakistan are the new feared teams in world cricket. Both teams have gone through a period of crisis. Australia was stale, needed new leadership and new blood. Pakistan, on the other hand, had to deal with spot fixing and lost its captain and best youngster in the process.
Both the countries have handled the adversity well. Pakistan, in particular, was lucky to have a wonderful old hand in Waqar Younis to steer it through some turbulent waters. Initially, Waqar was there to help his team deal with the humiliation, and there was lots of it. He handled the press well and led his young team out of the wilderness. This horrible mess ended up hurting him deeply and he had to resign because of poor health.
So Pakistan needed a coach and a captain who could carry on with the good work from Waqar. The first great choice was naming Misbah-ul-Haq as skipper. What a fine job he has done. He has won nine of 15 Tests as captain and he has an air of grace and calmness about him.
Misbah has worked out exactly what attack he needs for all conditions. For matches in the subcontinent, he realised he needed three quality spinners. He now has three fantastic spinners with great variations - Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez. He also has wonderful pace bowlers to choose from such as Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan. Let us not forget their wicketkeeper, Adnan Akmal, who can upset even the toughest of Test batsmen.
Three months ago, Pakistan appointed Mohsin Khan as its interim coach until it decided on a permanent one. Mohsin has done a brilliant job and has put pressure on the man who had been touted to get the job, Dav Whatmore. Many past players and fans believe Mohsin should be allowed to carry on as coach. I am told he wants the job.
With all the great work the players have done since their humiliation, it has been the Pakistan Cricket Board that has performed badly. It is four months since the PCB advertised the position of head coach and we have yet to receive any official word on who it will be.
Mohsin has now put serious pressure on the board. I hear the players want things to stay the same, and the PCB is stalling on naming Whatmore as its new coach.
The chairman, Zaka Ashraf, has said Pakistan wants a qualified coach so it can win the World Cup. So is a 3-0 whitewash of the No. 1 Test team in the world a fluke? Just because Mohsin does not have a piece of paper to say he is qualified as a level-three coach does not mean he cannot do the job. The recent results tell me otherwise.
At the same time I feel sorry for Whatmore, who was expected to take over from Mohsin. He has quit his job as head coach of the Indian board's cricket academy and also resigned from the head coaching position of Kolkata Knight Riders. Whatmore is caught between a rock and a hard place, and could miss out on the Pakistan position if the pressure for Mohsin to stay on as coach is kept up.
Pakistan is flying at the moment but still has a few weaknesses. Its tailend batting is still poor, and the fielding is awful, but that has been a problem since Imran Khan was a boy.
Now we are hearing talk about a Mohammad Amir comeback. Amir, who has just been released from jail after being found guilty of spot fixing, will be 24 when he serves his five-year ban from the game. Whether he should play is another question. The board chairman has already answered this by saying Amir will be welcomed into the team.
Ashraf should have addressed this question in five years' time. It was a poor answer, and poor timing as well considering the great work the team has achieved recently.
Let us not forget that Amir did not care too much for his team in the past. Nor did he understand what an honour it was to play for his country, and instead put money first.
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