Misbah terms series whitewash a stepping stone toward progress

RAWALPINDI: Head coach Misbahul Haq termed the whitewash against South Africa as a stepping stone to give the team a formidable look, saying that the best part of Pakistan’s win was the valuable contribution of the bowling all-rounders.

Talking to a group of journalists Tuesday, Misbah said many factors including the conditions marred think-tank’s efforts to groom the players in recent times.

“The clean sweep against South Africa has come as a big boost to our future planning that includes raising a formidable side for the upcoming assignments. South Africa is one of the leading Test-playing teams and outwitting them in all the departments of game is really a big achievement. I am really excited about the contribution by the bowling all-rounders. Their role in the victory was second to none. Be it Yasir Shah, Nauman Ali, and even Hasan Ali, they all have given us dynamism.”

Misbah added that it was always good to see the bowlers contributing to batting.

“In the series against South Africa, our bowlers enabled the team get a winning edge at the end. When a team plays at home regularly its players get mental toughness that is required in away series. In recent times we played five Tests in Pakistan and went on to win four. We have succeeded in plugging the gaps and overcoming our weaknesses during the series. Even when we were struggling at some stages, we raised our game and performed exceptionally well. Rizwan and Faheem came out good in the second Test when we were looking forward to setting a competitive total.”

The head coach admitted that weaknesses were still there in the team.

“Even after the series win, we felt there were weak links and one of these was lackluster performance by the top order. Since we are to play away Tests against Zimbabwe, our efforts would be to remove these flaws and boost their morale while putting them under training at National High-Performance Centre in Lahore.”

Misbah also rued the missed opportunity in England. “We were unlucky to have lost the series against England from a winning position. That was a setback to our efforts. Some dropped caches and a few close misses curtailed our efforts. The team’s performance was not up to the mark in New Zealand too as the conditions were bit tough there. One must keep in mind that results do not come quickly. If you want to get favourable results, you have to give some time to people at the helm of affairs.”

The former captain said his team has shown improvement by achieving No 5 position in the ranking. Now the focus would be on the T20 series.

“Now my focus is on the T20 series. We have already won the Tests and hopefully would go all out to win the T20 series as well.”

The head coach said the role of a captain was vital in the game.

“Babar has handled the team well and even when Pakistan were under pressure he took the right decisions. No matter who has more powers but it is the teamwork that matters the most. Babar has shown exceptional qualities as a captain during the series.”

Misbah added that his ultimate goal would be to take the team to No 1 spot.

“Since every team wants to play against the best, we want to become the best yet again.”

Regarding the formation of Test team in future, Misbah hinted at reconsidering Shan Masood for the upcoming series.

“If anyone is low in confidence, we need to back him once he starts performing. Nasim Shah is also nursing his injury. Hopefully, after recovery, he would be there for Test selection. This lot is very important for us.”