Misbah-ul-Haq urges critics to have patience with experiments in Pakistan team

Pakistan cricket has overhauled its national team’s entire coaching line-up in a bid to revive the fortunes on the 22 yards. After a dismal show in the first half of 2019 when the Men in Green failed to win a single series and also fell short of a semi-final berth at the ICC World Cup, its top coaching members have been changed. Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq replaced South African-born Mickey Arthur while another former captain and coach Waqar Younis was chosen as the bowling coach.

Pakistan did well to win their first bilateral series in ODIs when they beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in a three-match series in Karachi, where international cricket returned after a long time. However, the hosts lost their first T20I against the same opponents in Lahore on Saturday despite their young pacer Mohammad Hasnain claiming a split hat-trick.

Misbah later appealed to the critics to show patience with the changes and experiments that Pakistan were doing so that positive results are yielded over the long run. Misbah, who is also donning the role of the chief selector after the exit of Inzamam-ul-Haq, also said that it is his duty to back Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan captain.

‘No need to press the panic button’

“There is no need to press the panic button. I would ask the critics to go easy on the players who fail. When a player makes comeback, he needs time to settle down again and perform,” Misbah told the media ahead of the second T20I against Sri Lanka, also to be played in Lahore on Monday.

Misbah said this after the critics lashed out at Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal, the two comeback batsmen who failed to impress in the first T20I. While Shehzad fell for four after coming out to open, Akmal scored a golden duck as Pakistan lost by 64 runs. While Shehzad played a T20I after over a year, Akmal last played in the national side in 2016.

Misbah, 45, said the experiments were being done keeping in mind the next T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020. In the first T20I, Pakistan made as many as six changes to the side that had taken on England in Cardiff in their last T20I match ahead of the ICC World Cup.

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