Captaining an international cricket side is just like a game of chess, where even one wrong move can dilute the hard earned dominance in no time.
The captain must always be ready to face criticism with a bullet-proof jacket of mental strength and perseverance. There will be attacks from all and sundry, especially if you are captaining a sub-continental side.
Even the greatest of players found it hard to cope with the captaincy pressures.
Sachin Tendulkar, arguably the greatest ODI batsman, won only 23 of the 73 (32%) ODIs played under his captaincy from 1996 to 2000. His individual batting average also dwindled to 37.8 as compared to a career figure of 44.8, justifying the fact that he wasn’t enjoying what he was best at.
This was later revealed in his autobiography that the captaincy problems jolted him to contemplate quitting the game at one point.
Hence, cricket captaincy in sub-continent is a tricky affair where the logical relationship between a great player and a great captain is certainly not directly proportional. The media and public will also come hard at you in bad times.
The decision to select Azhar as ODI captain also raised many eyebrows. We have also mastered the art of regretting it later without even expressing it.
After Azhar’s announcement as ODI captain, one of the online polls’ showed that 45 per cent of the voters thought Muhammad Hafeez was the right choice – with Azhar Ali left stranded at only 1 per cent. The remaining votes were almost equally divided between Wahab Riaz (26%) and Sarfraz Ahmed (28%), courtesy of their recent sound performances.
The reason was mainly attributable to the traditional mindset which called him a good Test player but inappropriate to the shorter version – as both a player and captain.
However, I had followed Azhar Ali since his debut in 2010. I am aware of the maturity he displayed in difficult situations in Tests, which separated him from other bunch of youngsters from Pakistan’s domestic circuit.
His recent form in the domestic List A circuit and his efforts to improve his strike rate were also not considered by the opinion makers. Fortunately, the PCB management, for a change, did consider these and gave him one of the toughest jobs in cricket – leading a Pakistani cricket team in the international arena.
However, the general opinion regarding Azhar Ali (as a captain only) was temporarily confirmed when Pakistan lost to Bangladesh in a humiliating fashion, despite Azhar scoring 209 runs with an average of 70 and a strike rate of 85.
This individual performance was deservingly undermined due to the overall team results, which was certainly one of the lowest points in our ODI history.
In the historical Zimbabwe series, the euphoria of cricket coming back was of more imperative than even the victory. The passionate fans came in huge numbers, sending a strong message to those who want to deprive them of the game they love. Azhar again thumped 227 runs at an average and strike rate of 76 and 95 respectively, and Pakistan won the series comprehensively.
Then, Pakistan achieved the feat of beating Sri Lanka in their own backyard after nine years – which was also significant in establishing eligibility for Champions Trophy. Fans witnessed numerous improvements like raised fielding standards, sound opening partnerships with a captain leading from the front, and a leg spinner performing in an ODI.
Azhar Ali, in the third consecutive series, scored more than 200 runs (217) at an average of 43 to boost his figures as a captain and also became the fastest Asian (23 innings) to score 1000 ODI runs.
Now his tally as captain stands at 653 runs at an average of just under 60 and an impressive strike rate of 88 runs per 100 runs. These are not bad stats by any stretch of the imagination as Azhar has certainly lived up to expectations.
Now you can link this with the build-up I gave at the start of this article by quoting Sachin Tendulkar’s example. There is a need to realise that based on these performances, he deserves a long run to build the team for the next World Cup (although it’s a story of every World Cup).
If he can raise his game in ODI and is consistently performing as captain, then there is no doubt that he can be the most appropriate successor of Misbah-ul-Haq in the Test arena as well, where he has performed well for quite some time.
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