Mohsin or Whatmore ?

Pakistan have beaten England in the Test series, and the team has never before looked more confident, one of the real plus points has been the team unity and the cohesion amongst the players. Credit should go to Misbah and Mohsin. Mohsin is particular seems to have excelled in his role as a father figure type coach.

However, with the PCB about to appoint Dav Whatmore, should we retain Mohsin, or appoint Whatmore ?

Or maybe retain Mohsin in some capacity, and bring in Whatmore ?

My take on this is this. Mohsin is mainly a cheerleader-type coach, and has not rectified some major issues in our team. In order for Pakistan to become a world-class Test team we need another quality middle-order batsman. I fear we will be screwed once Misbah and Younis retire. The current success does paper over the cracks somewhat. God forbid but if we have a foreign tour against the likes of South Africa coming up, our reliance on YK, Misbah and Saeed Ajmal could be horribly exposed, and all these people saying 'if it ain't broke don't fix it', will be singing a very different tune. We need a professional coach for the long term.

Mohsin Khan's style of coaching is very hands off. A lot of the recent success can be attributed to the players, rather than MHK, who whilst deserves credit for man-management, he is not a professional coach.

Whatmore can build on our current successes, and keep working on what we are doing right, and work on where we can improve. He may assess the situation and feel a radical restructuring is not required hence 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'. He also has experience working in the sub-continent.

From what I've read about Whatmore he is the type of guy who will work long hours in the nets, take time out to watch players at FC level, and takes notes on individuals and then work out a training schedule to help those individuals regarding their weaknesses.

I don't think Mohsin is that sort of coach, he seems happy to give a few pointers here and there, which may be fine if he's to become the batting coach, but you need a certain level of 'follow through' and commitment if you are to be a head coach, which Whatmore seems to have. He is certainly a very passionate coach but he himself says he tries to keep things simple which may suit our players, overcomplicating things causes confusion.

I'm also glad Whatmore wants influence in selection, we all know the likes of Malik and Farhat won't last a second if he is given a place on the selection panel, whereas with Mohsin they will be granted reprieve after reprieve.

However I do agree we need the best of both worlds, we need Mohsin's strength with man management along with Whatmore's more technical nous. We need the gadgets and the stats, as well as good motivational skills. Mohsin should be retained in some capacity.

As for team unity, Misbah has done a great job with team discipline and will ensure that player power remains in check, along with the PCB with their 'zero tolerance' approach.

With the current team, I think there won't be as much a culture shock than if Whatmore was appointed in 2007. All hell would have broken loose, and some of the egos Pakistan had in 2007 would have certainly caused trouble. Now we have a more cohesive, young and more mature side, who will respond better to Whatmore than previous Pakistan teams would have.

Watmore u need when u got Mohsin?

Simple. Get Whatmore in. Keep Mohsin as manager. He is not doing any sort of coaching anyway. He is managing them, and is more of a father figure who knows how to give them a good pep talk. We need a professional coach, and Mohsin does not fit that description.

i also agree with this point.

they can easily keep both of them, whatmore as a coach and mohsin as a middle man ( if not) then manager.

i dont think so he will take the job of manager

if you listen to his interview after the end of second test, he clearly said, dont take mohsin khan for granted lol

but his absence may result in grouping. all these players ( especially the young ones) they look at him as a father figure, so they will really miss him and may not respond in same way to whatmore.

According to geo Watmore has taken over now for definite:

"Coach Mohsin Khan, who rather unluckily will be replaced by former Australian batsman Dav Whamore after the series, said these are good days to relish after the bad times."

Coach Mohsin Khan, who rather unluckily will be replaced by former Australian batsman Dav Whamore after the series, said these are good days to relish after the bad times.

"Geoff Lawson: The performance of the team recently is down to Misbah Ul Haq. Mohsin Khan will be doing nothing. I am quite aware of what his capabilities are, from the time I was coach of the Pakistan team. He was in charge of the National Academy in Karachi and not very 'cluey' in his job. This is down to Misbah and his senior players and his organisation. I still think if Pakistan wants to go ahead, they still need a quality coach. Dav Whatamore is the right person. I heard a minister say they are not going to pay him, but he will be terrific for them. Right now, he will work very well with Misbah and take them to another level which they will not get to with Mohsin Khan sitting in the chair. I am sure Mohsin’s not really providing too much. I think if they want to go to the next level up, they definitely need someone like Dav."

I think Geoff Lawson is spot on, when Pak is going to tour places like South africa, australia and England in the future they'll need more than a pat on the back ... Misbah deserves all the credit,saying things like "Don't take Mohsin Khan for granted" .. indicates how badly he wants this job .. and that is why he is working so hard, once he gets what he wants, who know's what'll happen next ..

mohsin

Moshin needs to b selector.

I don't trust Mohammad Ilyas much.

Dav Whatmore says he wants a place on the Pakistan selection panel, now I'm not a selector but I'm imagining that there will be a lot of rows between Whatmore and a certain Mohammad Ilyas over you know who

nothing more nothing more...

We r happy with Mohsin

misbah and mohsin is working quite nicely isnt it? so you dont want to change something that is giving you results...

It is time for Whatmore, Do you see lack of tempermant and techniques in some pakistani players.Whatmore is the type who would go out and try to fix this.

Do you see Gul's action how he looses mommentum after he bowls and does not have a great follow through, Whatmroe can assist with fixing that.

Mohsin will be not say anything as long as they are winning.

If this happens, it will be in favour of Pakistan cricket.

Mohsin expected to be back as chief selector: Cricketnext

Our batting always been a concern and it hasn't been rectified under Moshin. With our current batting line-up well crumble under seeming conditions, we've been fortunate to have played majority of our games in the middle east/ Asia.

I'd rather have Mohsin as a chief selector as he was doing a good job at that post. We need a professional coach, which I think, Mohsin is not.

SOS to Whatmore !

Get rid of cheerleader Mohsin. His idea of tactical analysis seems to be to sip tea vigorously on the sidelines. Pakistan making the same mistakes over and over again.

No improvement in batsmens' techniques.

I'm a big fan of Mohammad Hafeez but he does not convert starts into bigger innings.
Imran Farhat is in the side because of his susar.
Umar Akmal is wasted down the order at No 6.
Shafiq gifted England his wicket today.
Also a big fan of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq and I am very patient with them but sadly they are getting progressively worse in One Day Cricket.

Our team composition is imbalanced. Bring in a specialist batsman - our bowling becomes weak.
Bring in another bowler - our batting becomes weak with a long tail.

Pakistan batsmen are incapable of building long partnerships which frustrate the opposition. You need quick strike rotation to keep the scoreboard ticking in ODIs. I have no such improvement in strike rotation under Mohsin.

Adnan Akmal is a tailender, his batting is atrocious.

Why isn't Mohsin ironing out the technical issues ?

Azhar Ali always hangs his bat outside his off stump, this also needs to be addressed. Hafeez keeps shuffling across the line and gets out LBW for that reason. Asad Shafiq does not move his feet against the seamers. Farhat is always struggling with delivering outside off-stump.

Where is the improvement ?

We seem to be stuck in 1992, where we only hit out in the last 10 overs. Cricket has moved on since then.

Excellent post by Markhor.

Top notch. Cant disagree with even a single word you said here.