Pakistan topping the ranking chart is a proud moment for whole nation: Waqar Younis

Former Pakistan pace bowler Waqar Younis believes that Pakistan becoming the No.1 ranked Test team is a proud moment for the entire nation. Pakistan climbed to the No.1 spot, after the 4th Test match between India and West Indies got washed out. Pakistan also had a good Test series in England squaring the series 2-2. “It’s a proud moment for the whole nation,” Waqar told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a huge moment for Misbah (ul-Haq) and for the entire team because the hard work finally has finally paid off. It’s always the ultimate dream to become the No. 1 Test team in the world and there is no team other than Pakistan that deserves to be at the top now. They suffered a lot in last seven-eight years but they have played outstanding cricket all along.” “There were a lot of problems in the background – those controversies and especially cricket not being played in the country and the boys being always on the road and away from home. So that is the major part I feel the team should be proud off. We kept moving forward after every hurdle, never stayed down and kept on fighting against all odds. That struggle makes this a remarkable moment for the country,” he added. Waqar, himself was the coach of Pakistan as he took up the job in March 2010 which ended in August 2011. And later on, he had a stint from May 2012 to April 2016 which saw some good results in the time being. However, he doesn’t want to take any credit for the Pakitan’s successful run. Also Read – I enjoy my five-wicket hauls more than my hundreds: Ravichandran Ashwin “I am honestly touched and, no, it’s not about taking credit for what I have done. I would give full credit to Misbah-ul-Haq, who has shown great resilience against his critics and never spoke a harsh word when things were going wrong. People were crushing him down because of his style of play, but now I think those people should be proud as Pakistanis. What else could you want from him? He did everything in his own way and whether or not people like his way, it is working for the country and has taken us to the top of the world. What else do you want to achieve?” Waqar went on to praise the skipper, Misbah-ul-Haq for his approach and his positive intentions. “It was Misbah’s honesty and good intent that made a huge difference. His positive intentions and his characteristics are outstanding. His calmness – I have never seen him cursing his critics. Even though former and current players let him down, he never responded. But look what he has achieved. This is the kind of thing that made him the best. Pakistan is the team that deserves to be the No. 1 side.” Pakistan had some of the legendary names in their squad in the 1990s, in the likes of Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Saeed Anwar, Shoaib Akhtar and much more but failed to achieve what the current team has done. Also Read – Javed Miandad heaps praise on Pakistan skipper; berates ICC ranking system “We were very good individually and were different,” Waqar said of the teams that he had played in. “It’s not like we didn’t win much, but we were not the No. 1 team. That is why I feel more proud of this present team. Because this team is more gelled, know their role and are very well settled. Of course, these are not yet great players – none apart from Younis Khan has reached that mark – but they have done what we in the ’90s were not able to do. This team could easily have fallen short of greatness, but they have achieved it with their hard work and unity,” he concluded.

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Pakistan topping the ranking chart is a proud moment for whole nation: Waqar Younis

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