Aaqib-ball: In the soil of the quick fix is the seed of a new problem!

On Thursday night came the news that Jason Gillespie has resigned as Pakistan’s red-ball coach ahead of the two-Test series against South Africa.

There were no surprises there. As far as Gillespie’s departure was concerned it was a question of not if but when.

It was an open secret that Gillespie had fallen out of favor with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and had to go.

He was removed from the national selection committee and was time and again overlooked by the PCB even when taking important decisions relating to the national team.

In a nutshell, the writing had been on the wall for the former Australia pacer for quite some time. He was apparently biding his time in the hope that the PCB will sack him (that would have forced PCB to pay out the entirety of his contract).

But that didn’t happen.

Start of Aaqib-ball era?

Pakistan’s cricket chiefs believe that they are better off seeing Gillespie in the rearview mirror. They have now happily put Aaqib Javed in the driving seat with the hope that he would succeed where his predecessors failed.

Aaqib, the former Pakistan Test pacer, has in recent times risen as a key and influential figure especially after helping the home side come back from an embarrassing first Test defeat to record back-to-back victories against visiting England earlier this season.

Since then he has become very close to Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman.

After his appointment as interim coach for the two-Test series against South Africa, Aaqib is now effectively Pakistan’s all-format coach. He took over as Pakistan’s white-ball coach after South African Gary Kirsten resigned from the position in October.

From where I see it, PCB chiefs are hoping that Aaqib will provide them with a quick fix for Pakistan’s under-performing men’s team.

They saw how Aaqib came forward and ordered low, slow and turning tracks in Multan and Rawalpindi to turn the tables on England. And it seems that they believe Aaqib will put the team back on track in all formats.

But as some one wise once said: “In the soil of the quick fix is the seed of a new problem,” I’m not too sure.

Don’t get me wrong.

Aaqib certainly has loads of experience. He played 22 Tests and 163 One-day Internationals for Pakistan. He could have had a longer international career but the match-fixing saga of the 90s ended his playing days rather prematurely.

As coach, he has had stints with Pakistan, UAE, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka apart from a long tenure as the man at the helm of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars.

So, it’s not that he doesn’t have the necessary coaching credentials.

It’s just that I’m not sure that he is the right man for the job.

Huge challenges

His biggest recent claim to fame is his role in Pakistan’s 2-1 Test series triumph at home. He is the one who came out with the so-called winning formula. But the decision to have completely turning wickets to tame England was a no-brainer.

It would take a lot, lot more to bring the best out of a unit that has become used to punching below its weight.

And the idea that Aaqib has the capacity to single-handedly pull Pakistan out of the downward spiral in both white and red-ball formats is downright absurd.

There is so much to be done.

Babar Azam, Pakistan top order’s backbone, has shown little spine in the recent past. In the shorter formats, there aren’t any batters who can hit the sixes and fours when the need arises.

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The bowlers aren’t at their best either. The pacers have lost their killer instinct while the spinners can only take wickets on pitches like the ones that were specially prepared to counter England.

Does Aaqib have any magic potions to provide so many quick fixes?

Well, he is facing far bigger challenges than taking a decision on what sort of wickets one must prepare when hosting a team like England at home.

Aaqib’s first test will be the away series in South Africa later this month.

What if his team flops there. Next will be the home series against West Indies followed by the ICC Champions Trophy.

What if he fails to deliver? Will Pakistan go back to the idea of having foreign coaches? And even if they do, will any good coach worth his salt want to come and coach the Pakistan team? After the way PCB treated the likes of Kirsten and Gillespie, I really doubt it.

Khalid Hussain is Editor Sports at Nukta