Umar Amin's appointment as captain for the "A" Team to face up to the world's top ranked Test side, South Africa should be lauded  as a move in the right direction.

By Saj Sadiq (26th September, 2013)

Today's announcement by the Pakistan Cricket Board that 23 year old Rawalpindi born batsman Umar Amin will captain the Pakistan "A" team against South Africa in a three day match from 8th to 10th October at Sharjah, marks a change in stance from the PCB regarding grooming future captains.

Previously the PCB has generally favoured the "senior" player approach when it comes to captaincy of the Pakistan national teams as well as the Pakistan "A" side. Even ahead of today's announcement, reports suggested that former Pakistan captain and current Pakistan International Airlines skipper Shoaib Malik would lead the Pakistan "A" side. However in a change of approach by the PCB, welcomed by many keen observers of Pakistan cricket, the Board chose the relatively inexperienced Amin who has only made 17 international appearances and has had limited opportunity to captain in domestic cricket where Sohail Tanvir has been preferred.

PakPassion.net understands that the change of policy in appointing young captains is also being considered by the PCB at domestic level and regional and departmental representatives will also be told in no uncertain terms by the PCB that the policy of appointing young captains needs to be adopted across the board in the many domestic tournaments played in Pakistan.

Pakistan's domestic teams are currently predominantly captained by senior cricketers who have served their regions and departments for many years. Captaincy generally falls into the lap of the senior cricketer(s) and this process continues down the line when one retires, the next in line in terms of experience and age is handed the captaincy. The process has generally worked for the domestic teams as the senior cricketers usually tow the party line in terms of selection and they are widely respected by their team mates. However the change of tact by the PCB is set to follow after lengthy discussions at a high level and following specific suggestions from within the current Pakistan coaching set up.

PakPassion.net understands that a senior member of the Pakistan think-tank has advised PCB officials that Pakistan cricket needs to plan better for the future particularly in terms of grooming future captains. As a result of these recommendations, the PCB hierarchy will look for the support of regions and departments in providing captaincy opportunities for some of Pakistan's younger cricketers with a view to preparing them for the trials and tribulations of national captaincy.

Current Pakistan captain 39 year old Misbah ul Haq has been under pressure following Pakistan's poor showing recently in Zimbabwe where they drew a 2 Test series, narrowly losing the second Test match. The PCB has opted to retain Misbah as Test captain for the series against South Africa but plans and preparation is already under way to commence the process of grooming a young captain as and when Misbah ul Haq calls it a day. The process started today with Umar Amin's appointment as Pakistan "A" captain and is likely to continue in the upcoming domestic season, providing the hierarchy of domestic teams obliges to the PCB's request.

If the regional and departmental teams oblige to the PCB's wishes then the likes of Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Khurram Manzoor, Umar Amin and Junaid Khan could be leading their respective domestic teams in various formats in the upcoming and future seasons.

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