"Pakistan have a new captain. This, admittedly, evokes the same response as learning Watford have hired another manager. A lack of surprise to go with, um, wait, hasn't he done this before? And so it goes that Shaheen Afridi, the left-arm quick now in charge of the 50-over side, was sacked as their Twenty20 captain last year after only one series at the helm."
"Pakistani cricket being volatile is just another Tuesday. Go back 15 years and you'll find a spot-fixing scandal that sent three star players to prison, unfolding while they were unable to host international matches, the exile prompted by a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka men's team in Lahore. In the middle of that they found time to win a World Cup."
"But the instability has been particularly worrying since the men's team reached the final of the T20 World Cup in Australia three years ago. Five full-time captains, 10 head coaches/team directors across formats and countless selectors have followed. Four men have headed up the Pakistan Cricket Board. The current chair, Mohsin Naqvi, called for sports and politics to be kept apart during the tensions with India at the Asia Cup. Naqvi is also wait for it the country's interior minister."
Pakistan cricket has endured frequent leadership turnover, with multiple captains, coaches, selectors and four Pakistan Cricket Board chairs in recent years. Shaheen Afridi was appointed 50-over captain after being sacked as T20 captain last year. Historical crises include a spot-fixing scandal and exile after a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team, yet Pakistan still won a World Cup in that era. Recent instability intensified after the men's T20 World Cup final appearance three years ago, producing poor results: last in the World Test Championship and missed knockouts in three white-ball global tournaments. Domestic politics and organisational issues have added to the turmoil, affecting both men's and women's teams.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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