Pakistan coach and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has insisted he inherited a declining T20 team last year, despite the team ranking No. 1 at the time. He noted the form losses of several players who had helped Pakistan reach that ranking, and stressed that it needed to make significant changes to keep them competitive.
“Pakistan was number one, but if you remember the time I took over, they were already on a losing streak,” Misbah said during a video news conference. “They lost in South Africa and a T20I against England. So they had already started to go down a bit and we all have an idea why it was. That was because some of our players were collectively out of shape: Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali , the main contributors. So there was a sudden drop, but we are trying to bring them to the same place (being number one). With the recent series [in England]It is clear that the team is developing and, in the future, you will see better performances. “
Pakistan was the world’s number one T20I team when Misbah took over as head coach last September. In the year since, the team has slipped to four on the table, while their test cricket luck hasn’t improved much either; they remain rooted in the number 7, as they were when he took office. But, facing an evaluation after a year in his dual role as head coach and head coach, Misbah was confident that his method and process would lead the team in the right direction.
Pakistan enjoyed a prolific streak from the T20 World Cup in 2016, when Mickey Arthur was appointed head coach, until he was fired in 2019, winning 30 of its 37 games with a win-loss ratio higher than any other team that would have played in at least 15 games in this period. They remained at the top of the standings since January 2018, but began a precipitous decline with a 3-0 home series loss to a depleted Sri Lankan team, the first T20I series played under Misbah’s tutelage. It was followed by a 2-0 series loss in Australia. The team mix has also changed dramatically, with Babar Azam replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain.
Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shahzad emerged from the desert for that first series under Misbah, while Fakhar Zaman out of shape was eliminated. In the past 12 months, Misbah handed out five T20I caps – Khushdil Shah, Muhammad Musa, Ahsan Ali, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali – while Mickey Arthur’a’s team was dismantled. Hasan Ali lost his way with multiple injuries while Zaman took more than six months to regain the manager’s confidence. Mohammad Amir has never been the same, while Faheem Ashraf and Asif Ali were also eliminated.
After two months in England, Pakistan achieved their only victory on the tour in the last Q20I. They had their fair share of opportunities throughout the tour, but were never able to capitalize, losing the test series 1-0 before rallying to square the T20I series 1-1. The series, according to Misbah, showed a glimpse of the cricket level he expected of them.
“The type of cricket that we are playing right now is exactly what we are seeing,” he said. “Especially in T20 cricket there were doubts about not having enough firepower and not matching the level of cricket that is played in the world. But scoring 190 more twice against England in English conditions is a sign that we are going in the right direction. “.
Misbah believed that the only weak link on the side was the inexperienced attack for which he requested time. “That [performance] needs to be improved but we are going towards that, similarly in test cricket; all we have to do is show more consistency. We have a lot of young fast bowlers, and over time they will gain experience from each game. There is room for improvement and you always think that whatever you have done, you have the ability to do better.
“Patience is the key with the inexperienced bowling line. You play any sport to win and that’s what we want too. We are working on technical and tactical aspects but you need some time. They are young bowlers. There is a process. to mature. Our overall vision is to bet on young people, obtain long-term solutions, develop our team over a longer period of time, obtain the right resources and invest in them. With the changes in Pakistan, the desired results are possible not the one we’re waiting for, but I’m satisfied with the process and we’re heading in the right direction. “
The series also saw the generally great Misbah expressing his emotions and frustration in the pavilion, with the images broadcast to the world, leading to comparisons with his predecessor Arthur, known for his quick temper. “I think that as a coach, as a player and as a human we want to win,” he said. “When you don’t get the desired results, you get disappointed and that’s natural. There were things going against you, even if we did it right, so that’s where I got frustrated. But as a coach, I realize I have to be patient.”
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