Misbah-ul-Haq Reviews Pakistan’s Performance in 2019

Misbah-ul-Haq, the head coach-cum-chief selector of Pakistan on Tuesday (December 31) said that Pakistan had a not-so-good year in Test cricket. Although Pakistan ended the year on a high note. They thrashed Sri Lanka by a whopping 263 runs in the Karachi Test and win the historic two-match series by 1-0 at home. It was the first Test series in Pakistan after a decade.

Misbah-ul-Haq on Pakistan team’s performance

The head coach was quoted as saying by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), “In white-ball cricket, our mainstays like Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan, on the back of whom we had won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, lost form at a crucial time which saw us suffer in the ODI World Cup and T20I format.”

Moreover, he said that although they maintain the number one place in the T20 format throughout the year, the ration has decreased. He admitted they need to work on a lot of things across formats. He praised the team, saying that they have enough potential and there is a bright future ahead for them.

Misbah-ul-Haq further praised Pakistan’s key batsman Babar Azam, citing that his current form across formats is very good news for them.

The head coach further shared, “He played some brilliant innings in the World Cup and ended the year by establishing himself as a Test batsman with scintillating performances in Australia and two centuries against Sri Lanka in Pakistan.”

He also talked about the young pacers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, saying that they have been impressive in the Test cricket.

Naseem Shah got a five-wicket haul in the last Test against Sri Lanka whereas Shaheen Afridi bowled really well in the World Cup and in South Africa, Australia and in Pakistan against Sri Lanka. They are that kind of players on whom the team can rely on. However, according to the coach, there is a lot of work need to be done ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.