Rangana Herath reckons Pakistan will struggle without Misbah and Younis

Sri Lanka’s ace spinner in Tests, Rangana Herath, claimed that Pakistan will struggle without the services of the two veterans of men in green by the names of Misbah ul Haq and Younis Khan. The Champions Trophy victory over arch-rivals India completely eclipsed the fact that both Misbah and Younis retired from the game of cricket.

This is Pakistan’s first Test assignment since their triumphant tour to West Indies. Since then, Pakistan participated in the Champions Trophy and after a long layoff, they hosted the iconic Independence Cup in a bid to revive International cricket in Pakistan.

Sri Lankan Cricket, on the other hand, has spiralled down to an unforeseen low as the Indians whitewashed the entire tour by sweeping the trophies in all three formats of the game. Previously, they suffered an ODI series defeat at the hands Zimbabwe.

Herath compares the retirements of Misbah and Younis with that of Mahela and Sanga

Rangana Herath stated his respite to see the absence of the two dynamic players from the Pakistan line-up. He also compared the retirements of Misbah and Younis with that of Mahela and Sangakkara, who also called it quits at the same point of time, creating a massive void from which Sri Lankan batting has still not recovered.

“That’s a big relief that we don’t have to play against the two of them anymore They were easily their two best players. Vastly experienced, very good players of spin and don’t give away their wickets easily. Pakistan will face a situation like us when we lost Mahela and Sanga around the same time,” commented Rangana Herath according to Cricbuzz.

“It will be a closely contested series. They are ranked sixth and we are ranked seventh. Our confidence levels took a beating during the Indian series and this is a good opportunity for us to lift our standards. Pakistan have some very good young players and I am looking forward [to] the challenge,” concluded Herath.