Here's Why Aamir Sohail Thinks PCB Appointed Younis Khan As The Batting Consultant

Former Pakistan cricketer Aamir Sohail has criticised Misbah-Ul-Haq tenure so far as Pakistan’s chief selector and coach. And according to Aamir Sohail, roping in Younis Khan as the batting coach underlines Misbah’s failure in that position. The 45-year-old took over the reins as Pakistan’s selector and head coach shortly after the 2019 World Cup but has not made monumental progress.

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Under Misbah-Ul-Haq, the national team has emerged victorious only six out of 15 matches across formats since September 2019. Their tour of Australia that began in November completed without the tourists winning a single fixture. The Test team, lead by Azhar Ali, lost both Tests by innings margin while Pakistan lost the T20I series by 2-0 under the new captain, Babar Azam. Pakistan’s next assignment is the tour of England.

Aamir Sohail belongs to the troops, who feel that PCB’s decision to appoint Misbah-Ul-Haq as the selector and the head coach was farcical since a batsman cannot share their challenges with the batting coach, who happens to hold two other significant roles. Hence, according to Sohail, Younis Khan’s selection as the batting mentor indicates that PCB seems to have understood their faults.

“The fact is that Misbah-ul-Haq for reasons best known to the PCB, was given the roles of Head Coach and Chief Selector, and he was also looking after the position of batting coach. Many of us commented then that this was not a good idea as batsmen who are struggling in some aspect of their batting are unlikely to share their problems with the Batting Coach who happens to be the Chief Selector and the Head Coach as well.

In that context, Younis Khan’s appointment, whilst recognising his experience, is proof that the PCB are accepting the fact that they made the wrong decision by entrusting Misbah with so many roles. What the PCB are implying is that Misbah is not a good enough batting coach which is why they had to bring in someone like Younis Khan into the picture as a batting consultant,” Aamir Sohail stated as quoted by Pak Passion.net.

Aamir Sohail fears Babar Azam would grow as a defensive captain:

Misbah announced last month during the central contracts’ announcement that Babar Azam would also take over as the ODI skipper. Regarding the same, the 53-year-old worries that similar to Misbah, who was a defensive captain during his playing days, Babar might also be the same type under the guidance of the coach.

Hence, the former opening batsman feels that the 25-year old needs proper mentoring to nurture his leadership qualities. Aamir Sohail thinks that the responsibility lies with Misbah to ensure Azam doesn’t commit the same mistakes he did.

“If Babar has been identified as Pakistan’s captain in at least 2 formats of the game, then it’s incumbent upon the PCB to help him become the best captain he can be. This can be achieved by identifying any weaknesses in his leadership qualities and by good mentoring. But if Misbah is to be Babar’s mentor, then we have a problem because he was himself criticised for being a defensive captain.

The onus is on Misbah to be honest about his own deficiencies as a captain and to make sure that Babar does not make the same mistakes he made, especially when it comes to making sure that the younger players are given good chances to ensure a brighter future for Pakistan cricket,” the 53-year old added.

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