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Cricket is perhaps one of the few games of the world where the on-field captain can radically change the direction of the game. Not by performing with the bat or ball, but by simple bowling changes, field placements, taking the new ball or the kind of direction being given to the bowler and fielder.

Depending on the fortunes of the Pakistan Cricket team, there has always existed criticism on the captain. Everyone has opinions on who the captain should be, whether the ‘approach’ of the captain is the right one. Who have been some of the captains of the Pakistan men’s cricket team over the years? Let’s find out.

Before proceeding, two names must be mentioned first. Names that Hassan Cheema included in his hypothetical Mount Rushmore of Pakistani Captains; Abdul Hafeez Kardar and Mushtaq Mohammad. Kardar was Pakistan’s first test captain; he set up the very foundations of Pakistan cricket since independence. It was under his leadership that Pakistan won a test match against every test playing side in the world just 6 years after their first test match. To put it into context, it took India 40 years to add this jewel to its crown.

After Kardar’s retirement, Pakistan lost its consistency and found itself on the edge of what is expected from any new entrant in the world of sport. It was the second head in Cheema’s Mount Rushmore; Mushtaq Mohammad who stabilized Pakistan. It was under him that the cricket team found its golden age of batting, with Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, himself and Wasim Raja taking the lead. It was under Mushtaq that heralded the dawn of fast bowling in Pakistan, spearheaded by Imran Khan and Sarfaraz Nawaz.

No statistics can do justice to the foundational role played by Kardar and Mohammad for Pakistan Cricket. What after? The list below provides for most of the influential captains in the Pakistani cricketing history and how well they have done. The list is not by any means hierarchal and does not intend to rank national captains over one another.

Imran Khan

[1982-84; 1986-87; 1988-92]

Test Matches as Captain: Played: 48. Won: 14. Lost: 8. Draws: 26. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.75

ODI Matches as Captain: Played: 139. Won: 85. Lost: 59. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.44

It is perhaps befitting to start the list with the current Prime Minister of the country, generally considered to be the greatest Pakistani Captain by a margin, the only one to lift the ODI World Cup Trophy for Pakistan. Let’s see if Imran holds true to this title when analyzing the statistics. After Misbah-ul-Haq, Imran has won the highest number of test matches for Pakistan, tying with Javed Miandad. Imran, however, has a significant number of drawn matches than either Misbah or Miandad, the kind of game that was played in the 80s was much different from today’s game, which is more fast paced.

Imran also has the highest number of ODI victories compared to any other captain, though he has also captained more games than any other captain as well. Beyond his leadership, he also excelled in an individual capacity when captain. His batting average (test) when captain is an impressive 52.34 compared to 25.43 when not playing as captain. His Test bowling average is also much better when captain when compared to not being captain (20.26 versus 25.53).

Javed Miandad

[1980-82; 1984-86; 1987 (for 1 series); 1988 (for 1 series); 1990 (for 1 series); 1992-93.]

Test Matches as Captain: Played: 34. Won: 14. Lost: 6. Draws: 14. Win/Loss Ratio: 2.33

ODI Matches as Captain: Played: 62. Won: 37. Lost: 23. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.6

It is interesting to note that most people don’t even recall Miandad ever being captain, or that he actually was captain for that many matches. He captained irregularly throughout the 80s when Imran would be away, he captained after Imran’s retirement in 87 and later in 92 but never for a long continuous period. Given these realities, much credit needs to be given to Miandad for having such impressive figures. But that’s all that there is, not much is said or written about how Javed was on the field as captain or how effective he was in building a team or side because a lot of his captaincy came about in intermediary periods.

After Misbah, he, along with Imran, has the highest number of test wins as captain for Pakistan. He has a higher win ratio compared to Imran, because he has a lesser number of draws. Miandad often came at odds with Imran who he claimed often tried to draw matches as opposed to going for the win. Miandad individually performed better when he was not captaining, his test batting average 3.45 runs higher in games when he did not captain and 2.14 runs higher in ODIs.

Wasim Akram

[1993-94; 1995-96; 1997-99.]

Test Matches: Played: 25. Won: 12. Lost: 8. Draws: 5. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.5

ODI Matches: Played: 109. Won 66. Lost: 41. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.6 

The only name Hassan Cheema was willing to include in his hypothetical Mount Rushmore of Pakistani Captains other than Kardar, Mohammad and Imran were that of Wasim Akram. The star of the 1992 world cup final was the leader of the team that played the final of the 1999 world cup final; the only one Pakistan played after 1992.

Wasim Akram was part of a phase where a great number of ‘superstars’ of Pakistan cricket played alongside each other, that period is often touted as the battle of egos by many writers. Wasim had a great deal of success as captain and is often described to have been a great captain by those who played as youngsters under him, like Shoaib Akhter, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, and Abdul Razzaq.

Akram will, however, be plagued by the controversies of his career. He was named as part of a match fixing scandal detailed by the Justice Qayyum report and was stripped of his captaincy in 2000. Wasim’s house was stoned by protestors after the 1996 world cup quarter final against India where he is said to have missed the match on purpose. Akram also had a publicly known feud with Waqar Younis throughout the 90s as they both tried to wrest from one another the crown of captaincy. There was a lot of potential to how far Akram could have changed Pakistan cricket, the way that Imran did but alas it is only a case of what ifs.

Waqar Younis

[2001-2003]

Test Matches: Played: 17. Won: 10. Lost: 7. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.42

ODI Matches: Played: 62 Matches. Won: 37. Lost: 23. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.608

Much like Wasim Akram, Waqar’s public falling out with Wasim Akram will always be remembered as something which destabilized the team as opposed to providing the kind of stability that is expected from the captain. Waqar Younis’ bowling average as captain is not significantly different from his career average be it in test cricket or ODI; he has more or less performed consistently. Without a doubt, Waqar Younis has been one of the greatest fast bowlers the world has ever seen, but probably not the best captain Pakistan ever saw.

Pakistan’s premature exit from the 2003 World Cup will always haunt Waqar as the team was split between those who supported his captaincy and those who backed Wasim Akram as captain (who was removed after the damning Qayyum Report). The team which included some of the biggest stars of Pakistan Cricket saw an exit in the first round, and Waqar was found unable to unite and rally the team into a functioning unit.

Inzamam-ul-Haq

[2001; 2003-2007.]

Test Matches: Played: 31. Won: 11. Lost: 11. Win/Loss Ratio: 1

ODI Matches: Played: 87. Won: 33. Lost: 33. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.54

After a long chain of instability and multiple different leaders, Pakistan finally found stability in Inzamam as captain. He was much different from his old contemporaries, very calm and conciliatory. Even during the peak of Waqar and Wasim’s fight when they wouldn’t speak to one another, Inzamam is said to have had a good relationship with the both of them. Inzamam brought reasonable success to a struggling Pakistan side and gave it the much needed stability; it was under his leadership that Pakistan squared a test series against India in India in 2005. He also personally excelled when captain, his batting average of 43.98 in ODIs and 52.10 in Test matches is much higher than his overall career average in both formats.

Inzamam, a star in the 1992 semi-final, was unable to make his mark as captain in the 2007 world cup which also saw Pakistan’s exit in the first round and the death of their coach Bob Woolmer. Inzamam inherited a team that was in bits and pieces but also left behind one that was in bits and pieces. It can’t be said that he radically changed the way Pakistan played cricket nor did we see grooming of a new breed of cricketers like we saw in 1999, but Inzamam can surely be credited with steadying the ship in difficult times in a way that probably no one else could have done.

Shoaib Malik

[2007-2008; 2019 (1 series)]

ODI Matches: Played: 41. Won: 25. Lost: 20. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.25

T20Is: Played: 20. Won: 13. Lost: 6. Win/loss ratio: 2.16

It was surprising to see someone as young as Shoaib Malik being handed the captaincy at the time that he was. The usual story of senior players not accepting a younger captain, wanting to have the captaincy for themselves held true in this case, something which ultimately proved to be the end in Malik’s short-lived tenure. Also see the case of Mohammad Amir.

His figures as captain are not that impressive but also not very damning. Given that he was only captain for a short period of time, it is very hard to say what could have been had he continued to be captain. Malik must, however, be credited for leading Pakistan to the final of the inaugural World T20 in 2007 and for pushing Misbah-ul-Haq’s inclusion in the squad over the veteran Mohammad Yousuf. Malik also had a better batting average as captain compared to when not captain, maybe captain Malik would have also become a much better batsman than he ended up becoming.

Shahid Afridi

[2009; 2011-2012; 2013-16]

ODI Matches: Played: 38. Won: 19. Lost: 18. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.05

T20Is: Played: 43. Won: 19. Lost: 23. Win/Loss Ratio: 0.82

 Nothing is perhaps more complicated than Shahid Afridi in Pakistan Cricket. That says a lot, given the number of complications that have always existed in the sport in this part of the world. Does he have the leadership temperament? Do we love his firebrand kind of cricket or are we uneasy by it? Is he an attacking captain or a random one? Answers to these questions will almost always remain in the grey.

We saw Shahid Afridi leading Pakistan to the 2011 World Cup Semi-Final, also to a semi final finish in the 2012 World T20 but also an early exit in the 2016 World T20. We saw him being the highest wicket taker in 2011, but in later parts of his life, we also questioned ourselves if he keeps on giving himself more overs as captain despite being hit all over the ground.

The figures don’t do justice to Afridi as captain, but also don’t do that great of injustice to him as captain. Captain Afridi in 2011 may perhaps be an outlier to captain Afridi in later years; maybe if he continued to lead post-2011, we could have seen a different Shahid Afridi altogether, but probably not too different.

Misbah-ul-Haq

[2011-2016]

Test Matches: Played: 56. Won: 26. Lost: 19. Draws: 11. Win/loss Ratio: 1.36

ODIs: Played: 87. Won: 45. Lost: 39. Win/loss Ratio: 1.15.

Misbah ul Haq took over the team after the spot fixing scandal of 2010, a disgraced team with extremely low motivation and not much ‘star power.’ It has been a fairytale journey from then on, a journey which can not be denied. Misbah ul Haq has managed to surpass Miandad and Imran in achieving the highest number of test wins as captain for Pakistan. The highlight of his tenure as captain will always be the momentary rise of Pakistan to the number one spot in the ICC Test rankings.

Misbah has often been criticized for being overly defensive as captain, not giving follow ons, playing it safe and ‘boring’ out the opponent. Regardless of what the strategy has been, it has been largely successful. Under his tenure, Pakistan did not lose a single test series in the UAE (a home away from home), whitewashed England and Australia in their fortress in the middle east. Drew a series against England in England and even chased over 300 runs on the final day of a test match against Sri Lanka.

Misbah’s success as an ODI captain is perhaps nothing out of the ordinary. Pakistan did win an Asia Cup under his lead, but generally, the fortunes of the ODI team were opposite to that of the test team, the kind of slow paced batting that became the culture in the team was not very effective in tackling the changing trends of World Cricket. Every captain post 1992 has only lived in the shadow of the 1992 triumph, some have gotten very close (Akram in 1999, Afridi in 2011) but not close enough.

Misbah ul Haq will be remembered as the most successful test captain in Pakistan’s history, someone who saw Pakistan through very difficult times. He may not be the flashiest or maybe even the ‘best’ captain, but surely one of the best. What Misbah did and achieved, maybe a better captain from the past would not have been able to do so, only Misbah could do what he did.

Sarfaraz Ahmed *

[2017-Present]

Test Matches: Played: 13. Won: 4. Lost: 8. Draws: 1. Win/Loss Ratio: 0.5

ODIs: Played: 47. Won: 25. Lost: 20. Win/Loss Ratio: 1.25

T20Is: Played: 34. Won: 29. Lost: 5. Win/Loss Ratio: 5.8

Sarfaraz’s run still continues, and he still has a long way to go. The current numbers hardly reflect what is to come but perhaps are ones that have invited a great deal of criticism towards him. Many critics claim that the Under-19 World Cup winning captain is not fit to captain; he does not have the right set of leadership skills. What are the correct sorts of leadership skills? One has never really been able to tell; past captains are said to have these skills only after they’ve achieved something in later parts of their tenure.

The fortunes of the test sides have almost turned unto themselves post Misbah-ul-Haq, the team has been unable to even defend their fortress in the desert. The ODI figures are a bit mixed, perhaps the 2017 Champion’s Trophy triumph is the only thing carrying Sarfaraz’s tenure at the moment. Sarfaraz as a batsman has also had not that great of a time ever since he’s risen to captaincy; he has averaged 25.81 with the bat in tests as captain compared to 40.96 when not captain. In ODIs he has averaged 33.47 with the bat compared to 34.83 when not captain. His figures with the bat also perhaps reflect Pakistan’s success in the two formats, severely falling in one while being average in the other.

It is in the shortest format of the game where Sarfaraz has seen a great deal of success. Pakistan is currently ranked the number one T20 side in the world; the win/loss ratio in this format is almost unbelievable. Never has Pakistan found such a long string of success in this format, even after becoming World Champions in 2009.

Sarfaraz still has a long way to go; maybe he will, in fact, go the long distance if given the correct sort of support. It would do no good to the future of cricket in Pakistan if years later we’re discussing the ‘potential’ Sarfaraz had as a captain like we discuss that of Malik and Akram.

Younis, Yousuf, and Saleem Malik

Something needs to be said of Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, and Saleem Malik. All the three of them had short stints as captain, not very successful ones either. Younis had his moment of glory when Pakistan won the World T20 in 2009, but Younis ended up facing a rebellion and did not continue as captain afterwards, he has in-fact only captained in 8 T20I matches only, not much can be deduced from that.

Mohammad Yousuf had a captaincy struggle with Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan and ended up leading the tour to Australia, which ended up in disaster for Pakistan and for Yousuf as captain. Saleem Malik led Pakistan in 12 test matches, and 34 ODIs, he is said to have been a captain with an attacking mindset. While his returns as captain have not been that great or that bad, he was involved in a match-fixing scandal in the 90s during the time he was captain and was subsequently banned for life after the damning Qayyum Report.