Misbah, Waqar wanted PCB to sideline Shehzad, Akmal for a year

E-Paper | July 03, 2026

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq and head coach Waqar Younis wanted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to sideline Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal from the national team for at least a year to force them to improve their attitudes.

According to a report carried by a private news channel, Misbah and Waqar in their tour reports after the World Cup stated that Shehzad and Umar refused to change their attitude and approach to cricket.

The report said the captain and coach had noted in their reports that despite being told many times to play responsibly and change their attitude for the team, Shehzad and Umar continued to show reckless attitude in their approach to the game thus letting down the team time and again.

Incidentally, both the players along with opener, Nasir Jamshed were on Friday dropped for the Test and one-day series in Bangladesh by the new selection committee with only Shehzad being retained for the lone T20 match.

“The PCB had decided to go with the suggestions of Misbah and Waqar and drop the two for all three formats but the national T20 captain, Shahid Afridi insisted on having Shehzad in his team,” the report said.

The training camp for the Pakistan team begins from Monday in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2015

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WeCare

Apr 05, 2015 09:53am

If that infact is the cast then they should be dropped for 2 years.

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M1968

Apr 05, 2015 09:55am

Both of them should be thrown out of all formats of the game. They both are useless...imo.

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ahmad

Apr 05, 2015 09:58am

i am not supporting ahmad and akmal, but waqar attitudes is no better than them, he drops sarfaraz while now he is a captain, Wassem was having trouble with waqar as well. Thank God waqar was not playing in 92 otherwise we wont have won that.

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Iqbal

Apr 05, 2015 09:59am

Meanwhile....... in an unrelated story Pakistanis want PCB to sideline waqar younis from coaching the national side and have him stay away from the matters of pakistan cricket for its betterment.

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Ali

Apr 05, 2015 10:01am

I would slap the super star out of these two.

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Fry

Apr 05, 2015 10:04am

Shahid Afridi played with the same reckless approach and we loved it, so the youngsters will try to copy him. Sixes and fours make you popular, rotating the strike and tuk tuk get you a bad rap.

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Apr 05, 2015 10:09am

This is just pathetic. You cannot justify removing Shehzad from the side, his average in world cup is better than many others like Younis, Jamshed, Sohaib, Afridi etc. Waqar is derailing this team and we must not allow it. Sometimes it makes me wonder if he is is on a mission to bring everyone down. I think the problem of Shehzad is that he does not like to TC and that Azhar Ali may well feel insecure. As for Umar Akmal, poor management is ruining him. These guys are not school children, let them play their natural game.

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Nadu Lal

Apr 05, 2015 10:12am

If that was the case why didn't coach and captain dropped them from one of the games of the World Cup on descipline. Now it is too little too late!!! Coach and captain if cant control the team should be first to be FIRED!!!

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mango person

Apr 05, 2015 10:13am

Very right decision. End

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Nadu Lal

Apr 05, 2015 10:13am

Escape goats by Waqar

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Tarik Saleem

Apr 05, 2015 10:13am

There should be a show cause notice for all these decisions before not selecting those talented young players. Also I was there in World cup to watch those matches and was wondering about the decisions made my Misbah and Waqar Younis for not selecting Sarfraz and Yasir Shah and kept selecting Nasir J. I think it is time to go to court against those two and bring the culprits for WC bad selections and punish those bad managers under umbrella of law. They are lucky I am not in Pakistan otherwise I could have gone to court.

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nadeem qazi

Apr 05, 2015 10:30am

cant we sideline Waqar also. we all know his weaknes, why cant PCB see it. If PCB wanted to have a clean business, they should always keep Rameez, Waqar, Qadir, Moin and Sethi out of this game

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Kakagan

Apr 05, 2015 10:35am

no room for facetiousness (mashroti)....

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anees from zaida

Apr 05, 2015 10:36am

It is difficult to decide which one of the three is the worst.

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For the truth

Apr 05, 2015 10:42am

In the same train of logic, Afridi should have been dropped years ago... For being reckless.

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AJamal

Apr 05, 2015 10:54am

With a lone T20 Afridi expects wonders from Ahmed Shahzad. This is pathetic.

Recommend 0

Apr 05, 2015 10:58am

@Fry Afridi is always played as an allrounder with more weight in bowling than batting but Umer and Shahzad play as the batsman. Good idea to set some standard to the selection criterion and shall be based on (may be recent, last six-twelve months or so) performance than the hope that the payer will perform in the match just because we believe that player has the talent.

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nadeem qazi

Apr 05, 2015 11:04am

when will we sideline, Waqar, Moin, Rameez, Qadir and all other selfish people. keep this great game out of politics, get good sportsmen on marit only please. Please please don't let this game die

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Amanzeb Khan

Apr 05, 2015 11:11am

Every format of the game should be treated separately. Ahmed Shahzad has scored 3 centuries in the 8 tests he has played and scored at an average of almost 50. He has shown a lot of application in this format atleast and in his last innings scored 177 runs. I find it ridiculous that someone who has started so well in test cricket is dropped on the whims of the coach on performance in a different format.

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Zainab

Apr 05, 2015 11:13am

praying to God - Afridi Bhai now pls leave and sell more products - You have done enough damage to Pakistan cricket already

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Third Umpire

Apr 05, 2015 11:21am

Why should Waqar Younus continue as Head Coach? There are many former cricketers far better than him.

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nzf

Apr 05, 2015 11:25am

@ahmad Thats the point ahmed waqar is imposing his thinking on the players. He had a fall out with afridi in 2011 world cup because afridi was not ready to accept dictation. As for the question of attitude and approach is concerned that cant be change in an ongoing mega event.You will have to let the players play their natural game because changing attitude and approach require time

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saif

Apr 05, 2015 11:30am

Good

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saleem

Apr 05, 2015 11:35am

Kick them out for ever.

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A Troll From Nowhere

Apr 05, 2015 11:39am

For Akmal, it was understandable. But for Sarfraz, it was shameful on the part of both of them.

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Khalid

Apr 05, 2015 11:53am

No compromise on discipline. Reading through the comments, some blame Waqar for their indiscipline. It was both in Misbah and Waqar's report about these two players. So if someone does not like Waqar does not mean those two players should be allowed. It is like hiding by blaming other.

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Shahz

Apr 05, 2015 11:54am

Who will write a report on Waqar? Ideally Shahid senseless shots Afridi should be dropped too including waqar and spin coach mushtaq. Mushtaq was with eng , a much more disciplined side but they could not improve in spin dept either .

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Googlie

Apr 05, 2015 11:55am

Ahmed Shahzad tried...he should be considered for ODI and Test teams!

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Waqas

Apr 05, 2015 11:55am

Clash of Afridi Group and Waqar Group! In the end it is Cricket suffering..

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Shahz

Apr 05, 2015 11:55am

@Zainab , I agree with Zainzb, now Afraidi is doing more damage to our cricket team.

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Bobby

Apr 05, 2015 12:07pm

Both are no good. Throw them out of the team. Afridi needs to keep national interest foremost. It is also time for him to retire from all formats of cricket.

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shamrez

Apr 05, 2015 12:13pm

of course afridi insisted on including shahzad because he is his selfie buddy. Now they will take more selfies in Bangladesh. Get ready Pakistanio!!!

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MSK

Apr 05, 2015 12:43pm

Unfortunately in our country, taking responsibilities of losses is itself lost somewhere deep in the dark.. Why didn't Waqar and Misbah voluntarily resigned from their respective posts and take the responsibility of the shameful WC defeat?? Kicking out only two players is not the long-term solution... On Bangladesh tour, a full new squad should be tried,regardless of whether we win or loose..

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Usman

Apr 05, 2015 12:52pm

It's so sad that Afridi continues to inflict unbearable damage to Pakistan cricket. His whole career is based on selfishness and disregard for the team values.

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Usman

Apr 05, 2015 12:54pm

@For the truth So well said, he had been the bad influence on new generation

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Sir

Apr 05, 2015 12:55pm

Why? even Afridi is captaining the T20.He does'nt deserve to bein the team. It's more like he belief as if place in team is his dynasty he doesn't have earn by performance.

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pakistani

Apr 05, 2015 12:58pm

why only for one year they should be sidelined permanently as they failed to become a rightful replacement of great Anwar and Sohail.

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Akram

Apr 05, 2015 01:00pm

The reckless shots shehzad tried to play, were obvious. Do the Aussie or indian batsmen use such reckless shots? no! They should be dropped as they obviously cannot stand the rigours of the international game. They need to adjust their game and if they are unwilling to do it, there is no point wasting time with them, I'm sure there are many other who are willing to adjust their play to be the best.

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Arju

Apr 05, 2015 01:18pm

@Amanzeb Khan @ Yes, You are right!!

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Javid

Apr 05, 2015 01:21pm

With Akmal, that is fine (He has always shown his arrogance on and off field, still remember the day when he faked an injury to get his brother in team). But wasting a talent like Ahmed Shehzad would have been injustice. He is a hard working guy (the thing which most of our cricketers don't do). I hope dropping from ODI and Test series would teach him a lesson for the better.

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Shahram Khan

Apr 05, 2015 01:28pm

Ahmed Shehzad is Afridi's Special Player ;)

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Apr 05, 2015 01:37pm

@Fry did you say 'rotating the strike'?

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Nadirian

Apr 05, 2015 01:45pm

Why Afridi still is part of any team? He is a complete failure.

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ehsan

Apr 05, 2015 02:02pm

Both of them displayed immature behavior. And we will continue to face such music unless we strengthen the domestic cricket and elevation to national team on merit'

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Imtiaz

Apr 05, 2015 02:03pm

@Nadu Lal There was another culprit who retired

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Khan Chacha

Apr 05, 2015 02:21pm

Can't see why Afridi is captain or even in the team..?!

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far

Apr 05, 2015 02:25pm

attitude was visible on field, media and reports, let alone the incident with the fielding coach. Selfies and pride cannot be sustained in a team sport. They need to undergo psychological therapy as well as prove their skills in domestic cricket before being considered for the international side again

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R.Kannan

Apr 05, 2015 02:36pm

I wonder why PCB & Pakistani selectors fail to understand the concept of nurturing talent ? Umar Akmal had the potential to become another Miandad. He was as good as Kohli a few seasons ago. However, he has rarely been provided with the possibility to bat in a regular position. He would have been ideal at No4 but Pakistan persists in giving opportunities to lesser batsmen. At no.6, the issue is normally the strike rate & not the averages. Misbah often pushes up the asking rate forcing other players to take unwanted risks. The few innings I have sen of Shehzad makes me wonder if Pakistan does not have better talent. Other teams are happy that Umar is out of the team.

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sardar

Apr 05, 2015 02:36pm

Good Decision. Kick umer akmal and Ahmad Shahzad out of national team for 1 year. Also Sohaib Maqsood deserves this treatment too.

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Map

Apr 05, 2015 02:37pm

After years, they managed to find a good opener. Now they should not lose him. One year is too much. He will lose his game and confidence totally in a year There are other methods of imposing discipline.

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R.Kannan

Apr 05, 2015 02:38pm

@Akram You should watch Rohit Sharma against good bowling. He throws away his wicket after wasting deliveries like he did against Australia in the semis. you can be sure that Shehzad can never match Rohit in his ability to throw away his innings.

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ali

Apr 05, 2015 02:39pm

Our team will only improve once we get rid of afridi. He is playing for over 17 years and was living so far on his fastest hundred. Did he change his attitude in WC. Shehzad and akmal brothers always look up to afridi. I hope he will stop playing cricket for pakistan soon. He is still a kid.

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Hamid

Apr 05, 2015 02:54pm

Afridi is spoiling Shahzad,thinking he'll get one day captaincy back again by playing politics.Its Afridi ,who should be shown the door!

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imtiaz Hydari

Apr 05, 2015 02:56pm

what is it with these young players - so much talent but horrible attitude. However i blame the management and coaching staff for not having it in them to harness the latent of these youngsters and help them develop professionally. Sad commentary on Pakistan Cricket!!

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truepakistani.

Apr 05, 2015 03:01pm

afridi was and is always a great captain, everyone will see in next world T20 world cup, he had similar characteristics as IK, don't forget the 2011 W/C, how he took the team single handily. Misbah is a good batsmen, great test captain, but like Inzimam, he lacks the killer instinct, which Afridi had, YK has, IK had, I am not a pathan nor do I belong to any supportive cast. However, players like Inzi and misbah lack the leadership intensity, that is required at this level (only in world cup)- the gives the players the self belief that they can do anything should they believe in.

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Shahid

Apr 05, 2015 03:19pm

We all should support coach and the captain but I would very much like to know if it is about the dicipline off the pitch or is it about how they play?

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syed

Apr 05, 2015 03:24pm

Take out Waqar as well. Good for nothing coach. Useless and senseless. Played politics, polarized and damaged the team spirits. PCB be gutsy and fair.

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Adnan

Apr 05, 2015 03:26pm

Waqar and Misbah conspired it all to make Azhar the captain and to give him Shehzad and Umar free time to settle in his job.

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Farooq Mughal

Apr 05, 2015 03:29pm

Both of them refused to go tuk tuk, as ordered by Misbah and to bat with fear in their mind and defensive batting as ordered by the batting legend Waqar. Its a huge crime and both should be banned for life.

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Asif

Apr 05, 2015 03:30pm

Afridi must retire from all formats. We don't want any hairstylish in the team., we need a responsible cricket player.

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Amit

Apr 05, 2015 03:49pm

Don't care for Pakistan team but if Misbah is recommending something, there must be some reason behind it. Afridi is dangerous for Pakistan future. Don't involve him in any decision. Misbah is the man who can take sensible decision. Akmal is not capable player. Drop him permanently. Give clear instructions to player. perform or perish. If they show attitude, spank them in the back and do not allow them to take part even in domestic cricket. One who plays with country's reputation should be treated HARSHLY.

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Tariq Awan

Apr 05, 2015 04:00pm

Whey these two only! Time to cut the crap and make a brand new team. It is full of survivors but not quality players. Pakistan is full of talent. Lets find new talent and nurture it through next world cup.

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Shakil

Apr 05, 2015 04:35pm

this is idiotic. They are natural stoke players and should be allowed to their natural game. Instead of helping them and giving them more exposure, they want to drop them. This is personal vengeance because these two have probably are not obedient enough to Waqar.

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Naz

Apr 05, 2015 04:50pm

Afridi's influence is the main instigator of their bad attitude. Like student like teacher.

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barde bhaya

Apr 05, 2015 05:52pm

Have we forgotten the insult to injury caused by younis?

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rathorew

Apr 05, 2015 06:23pm

Why is Afridi allowed to override the selection committee? Drop him also. I admire him as a player, but the long-term future of the game in Pakistan is much more important than an individual, and he is setting a bad example.

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Sami

Apr 05, 2015 07:08pm

Does Pakistan really need to have a different team and captain for T20 which are very few to play in each series? Why can't they just select the T20 team from test and one day sides for T20 and choose a captain from someone regular in these teams. Shahid Afridi should retire instead of playing just T20. Its not worth it.

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Sarmad

Apr 05, 2015 07:57pm

100% agree. In any case Akmal with his infant mindset cannot bat in test and odi. Since last five years we are seeing immature behavior from both of them. Test cricket and odi is a gentleman's game and successful batsmen have to be cool headed and intelligent. For example Harris, sarfraz, Yonius, azhar and Fawad. I hope new young batsmen batsmen follow advice and listen to skipper and coaches...

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Sami

Apr 05, 2015 08:37pm

@Adnan What conspire? Look at Shahzad's and Umar's ordinary record against major teams for last 5 years. No matter how talented they are if they don't have cricketing mind or don't develop one in five yrs then time to say good bye from test/odi. These two who mentally not capable to learn or take advice should sit outside and newcomers should be given the opportunity. Even there influence is not good for Test and ODI players. They should only play T20!!!

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Mirza

Apr 05, 2015 09:20pm

It is not the runs scored but the way these people drop catches and throw their wickets away. Attitude is more imp than the individual performance. Some play for the team and some for their own ego.

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optimist

Apr 05, 2015 11:00pm

Good decision, but If the captain and coach were bold enough they would also recommend to sideline Shahid Afridi for his performance and behavior. But they and the PCB are afraid of the public backlash. I am surpruised why Sohaib Maqsood is not sidelined, at best he should play in only t-20 format, while Haris Sohail, Saeed Ajmal, Hafeez, Sarfaraz, Wahab Riaz and Sohail Khan should have been selected for only two formats.

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A Pakistani

Apr 05, 2015 11:04pm

If a player is having a deciplinary problem why they keep playing with him ????? They kept out sarfraz and yasor shah without any reason while keep playing with those who problems with their attitude. It is a complete failure of team management that includes Misbah and Waqar. Their acts should also be accountable.

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Hamza Hasan

Apr 05, 2015 11:26pm

Right decision for Shazad, Akmal, some grouping in Pak cricket team notice, I was present in w/cp 2015, noticed all were not on page, Misbah/Waqar vs Afridi, these 3 should removed from Pak team to grow up for 2018 cup. Shazad, Ukmal & Akmal were not taking part in coaching session bcs they want Afridi captain (looser of 2011) vs Misbah (looser 2015). PCB chairman take a note of these, removed Afridi and Shazad from T/20 and Misbah from test. Build new boys with vision of 2018 w/cup.

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Umair khan

Apr 05, 2015 11:45pm

Afridi must go. Instead. Wahab should replace him in ODIs and Anwar should replace Ahmad Shazad

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Optimist

Apr 06, 2015 01:01am

@Iqbal Great news but what is the source. I don't blame Waqar Younus, he can say you all know me from last time. The blame rests with Najm Sethi who appointed him in the middle of the night without giving a fair chance to other applicants.

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Arshad

Apr 06, 2015 02:36am

Waqar is not trustworthy. His career is clouded. He wants yes men around him. He pushes his coaching on the batsman. He is a bowler. By the way where was Andy Flower the other high priced coach?

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rathorew

Apr 06, 2015 07:40am

@Tarik Saleem this is one of the silliest remarks that I've seen on the site. Have you played more international cricket than Waqar and Misbah?

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Umair khan

Apr 06, 2015 08:44am

My idea is to add a full time batting coach. Remove Mr Flower as he hasn't helped our players improve all this time. It's time to send some batsmen to Australia and play in cricket academies for kids.

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Cricket Fan from California

Apr 06, 2015 10:03am

Well.. everyone of them including Misbah and Waqar played their part in making our cricket suck, bad attitude and waste another world cup. Better attitude on their part would have been a resignation before the world cup!! They made us suffer throughout the world cup and become a total joke.. we didn't even believe we would beat Zimbabwe.. we sucked so badly! Not sure what they are smiling about in the picture!! That to me is a bad attitude.. they should give back the money they made to poor people in Pakistan who prayed for them and stayed up to watch them lose!

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Riz

Apr 06, 2015 04:40pm

Way to go selectors.

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Adnan

Apr 06, 2015 05:12pm

Honestly feel they both need nurturing and a firm hand to coax out the best. Also while misbah has been the most consistent scorer, glad to see him go. Umar needed to play number 4. Here was our most talented batsman being asked to play in slog capacity regularly.

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imran

Apr 06, 2015 06:32pm

When will be able to see pak crickerts in IPL, i am dying to see them

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Gondal

Apr 06, 2015 11:11pm

We realy need change the whole team to set example that u cn only play if ul play for pak or els stay home

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shak

Apr 07, 2015 07:06am

good recommendation. They should have send both back during the world cup.. I don't know why Wicky and Misbah waited for conclusion of world cup. There should not be any compromise on discipline or attitude..

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Zaheer

Apr 07, 2015 09:36am

If One keep on his Reckless attitude again and again,He Should be dropped from all formats; No Concern whether he is Afridi,Ahmed,Akmal Or Any Else..The Thing is that All 11 players Must Be Serious For The Victory Of Pakistan...Its Not a political Platform But its Game...Politics Must Be avoid by each otherwise Drop That Players For Couple of Years.

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Bakhtiar

Apr 07, 2015 10:46am

These sporting stars are role models for the young generations and should behave like that. If these players lack self discipline then irrespective of their playing abilities, must be kept out of Pakistan team at all cost. Agreed we may loose few talents, but in a year or two, we will have a marvelous team. Please PCB, stand on your moral responsibilities and show that you are coming up to nation's expectations

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tariq

Apr 07, 2015 11:28am

Afridi is the main man responsible time and time again creating divisions in the team,history speaks for itself first Yousuf and then Misbah.He is an average player who harks on past performances happened to be year's ago. If Pakistan wants to rebuild it should purge itself from all forms of negative influence.

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Kabir

Apr 07, 2015 11:31am

I can't believe some of the commentators say that Umar Akmal is the most talented batsman in the team!!! really???? why he has been in the team in first place was beyond my understanding. And Mr. Ahmed Shehzad he is like a lazy daily wages laborer who would do enough to earn a day's labor and also keep the job!!!!

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Anwar Ahmad

Apr 07, 2015 09:00pm

Afridi lifted Shahzad into T20. Hmmm.

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Syed

Apr 07, 2015 10:56pm

@Oz I love Shezad as well but one has to change your game according to team needs. All big players from Australia, South Africa, India etc. do it. Imran Khan implemented that as well. The problem with our players is discipline, if they work on it they can achieve great results for themselves and the team.

Recommend 0

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