Muhammad Amir: The future captain of Pakistan

Since Shoaib Malik became the stand in captain for Sarfraz Ahmed, speculations were abounding in cricketing circles as to who will lead the team in the big event. But the disappointing performance of Pakistan team under Malik stifled all rumors. Sarfraz now has nothing to worry about. He must be focusing on the biggest challenge of his lifetime.

The captaincy of Pakistan Cricket team has always been a concern for PCB. The stable captaincy is a key to unified team performance. Imran Khan was one of the strong captains in the history of Pakistani Cricket and during his stay in the team as captain Pakistan was a force to be reckoned with. Wasim Akram also served the team a bit longer than his successors. Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Inzimam, Waqar, Muhammad Yusuf, Younas Khan, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and Azhar Ali could not stay long in the captaincy except Misbah-ul-Haq. Though he did not lead the team for a longer period as did Javed Miandad, Imran Khan or Wasim Akram and yet he gave the team stability especially in test matches. He is also the most successful test captain of Pakistan.

In a recent statement given to media Wasim Akram said, “Muhammad Amir is still one of the best bowlers in the world. Although he has not performed well in the previous matches but still he is the best in the world. I also see him as the future captain of Pakistan team”. This statement is quite surprising at a time when nobody wants to think ahead of the biggest event in the world of cricket. All eyes are on Sarfraz Ahmed and the world Cup.

No doubt Muhammad Amir is a great bowler of recent times but he is lacking the aggression and life not just as a bowler but as an athlete and a cricketer. He seems to have recoiled in a shell. He must break the shackles and be the player he used to be, if he wants to take on bigger responsibilities in future.