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“We will bank on these two promising fast-bowlers, Naseem & Shaheen, in the future" : Misbah-ul-Haq
The year 2019 was a year of mixed on-field performances for the Pakistan national men’s team.
They strengthened the claim of Karachi’s National Stadium being the national side’s fortress in Test cricket with a win against Sri Lanka to register their first World Test Championship win, but struggled on away tours failing to win in South Africa and Australia.
They won four consecutive group-stage contests in the ICC Cricket World Cup and fell just short of qualifying for the semi-finals on the basis of the net run-rate. They beat Sri Lanka 2-0 at home in their last ODI assignment, but series defeats to Australia and England put a dent in their win/loss ratio.
Pakistan remained number one in T20Is throughout the year. They were beaten 2-1 by South Africa in an away series, which were followed by series losses to England, Sri Lanka and Australia.
The PCB appointed Misbah-ul-Haq as the chief selector and head coach after the ICC Cricket World Cup, in 2019.
Recapping the 2019, Misbah-ul-Haq said: “Pakistan ended 2019 on a high note with victory against Sri Lanka, but, overall, it was a tough year for Pakistan in Test cricket.
“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. Though, we managed to stay number one in the format throughout the year. Overall, our win ratio in T20I cricket has fallen.
“Going further we have to improve a lot of things in both red-ball and white-ball cricket. This team has enough potential and new boys are also making their way in international cricket. There’s certainly a bright future ahead for us.
“The emergence of Babar Azam as a mega star across all formats is very good news for Pakistan cricket. He remained number one in T20I cricket and is in the top ten batsmen in the ODI cricket. 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.
“Some of the new bowlers like Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi have arrived at the scene and they have been impressive in Test cricket.
“Naseem got a five-fer in the last Test against Sri Lanka. Shaheen bowled well in the World Cup and he showed glimpses of being a Test bowler in South Africa, and bowled really well in Australia and here in Pakistan against Sri Lanka.
“We will hopefully bank on these two promising fast-bowlers in the future.
“Overall, we are on the right track. The more we play the longer format, the more we will improve. We need to do a lot of work in white-ball cricket ahead of the all-important ICC T20 World Cup next year.
“Retaining number one position in T20Is was a big positive for us. No doubt, we did not perform up to the set standards, but this is something we look to build on.
“Mohammad Rizwan performed very well for us in Australia, which was very good for us. Iftikhar Ahmed joined the team in the latter part of the year and the way he has put up performances in the T20I performances was certainly a plus for us.
“We can go a long way with a few more additions in the side and the present players maturing.”
===
Misbah-ul-Haq quotes from PCB Video
“Starting from beginning of the South Africa series, it was a tough year for Pakistan cricket, then our series against Australia was also tough but we finished well with the Test series against Sri Lanka”
“Overall if we see this was a tough year for Pakistan in Test cricket”
“We had a luxury that we were enjoying before 2019 with the openers such as Fakhar Zaman being in good form; But then before the World Cup as we saw in the series against England and Australia and then during the World Cup itself, we had the misfortune that some of the main players who we had been banking on and those who had helped us win the Champions Trophy such as Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali were out of form; Shadab Khan was also out of form and this meant that our ODI and T20I performances suffered”
“We managed to stay number one in T20Is throughout the year but overall our win/loss ratio decreased with us winning just one T20I game out of 10 matches”
“Going forward we need to improve a lot of things in red and white ball cricket”
“This team has a lot of potential, with some young players looking to make a place for themselves in international cricket and we are seeing a good future for this young team”
“If we look at 2019, we have a mega-star in cricket who has proven himself across all formats is Babar Azam”
“He is number in T20Is, and is also top 10 in ODIs; He played an important innings in the World Cup, then as a Test batsman proved his mettle in Australia and then got 2 100s in Pakistan too”
“This is very good news for Pakistan”
“We also have some excellent new bowlers like Naseem Shah who took a 5fer against Sri Lanka and then Shaheen Shah Afridi who did well in the 2019 World Cup; We saw a glimpse of his talent as a Test bowler in South Africa but then the way he bowled in Australia and in Pakistan, that is good news for Pakistan in the coming times”
“Hopefully we will bank on Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi as these two will do big things for Pakistan”
“We need to do a lot of work on T20I cricket especially going into the T20 World Cup”
“Mohammad Rizwan’s performances in Australia was very good for us”
“The way Iftikhar Ahmed played in Australia in T20Is, that was also a plus for us”
“We can build on this and if our boys can mature further, we can go a long way”
“We took some tough decisions in the year such as playing a very young bowling attack”
“Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah’s problems were all those that came to the fore when I started my tenure”
“We tried some combinations and also Sarfaraz Ahmed’s low form also effected the performances of the Pakistan team”
“Both the team and I have now faced a difficult time but slowly, we are getting there”
“We need to continuously play cricket and that is a challenge for us; With Bangladesh there is no surety about what will happen; After a long time we played 4 Tests with 2 at home and now if we have a break for a long time then that is not good for Pakistan team in Tests”
“When you play after gaps of 4 months then your problems increase as your team cannot develop and there is no momentum”
“This period of 2 months or so which includes the time before PSL and after that, is the time we need to find solutions for white and red ball cricket”
The year 2019 was a year of mixed on-field performances for the Pakistan national men’s team.
They strengthened the claim of Karachi’s National Stadium being the national side’s fortress in Test cricket with a win against Sri Lanka to register their first World Test Championship win, but struggled on away tours failing to win in South Africa and Australia.
They won four consecutive group-stage contests in the ICC Cricket World Cup and fell just short of qualifying for the semi-finals on the basis of the net run-rate. They beat Sri Lanka 2-0 at home in their last ODI assignment, but series defeats to Australia and England put a dent in their win/loss ratio.
Pakistan remained number one in T20Is throughout the year. They were beaten 2-1 by South Africa in an away series, which were followed by series losses to England, Sri Lanka and Australia.
The PCB appointed Misbah-ul-Haq as the chief selector and head coach after the ICC Cricket World Cup, in 2019.
Recapping the 2019, Misbah-ul-Haq said: “Pakistan ended 2019 on a high note with victory against Sri Lanka, but, overall, it was a tough year for Pakistan in Test cricket.
“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. Though, we managed to stay number one in the format throughout the year. Overall, our win ratio in T20I cricket has fallen.
“Going further we have to improve a lot of things in both red-ball and white-ball cricket. This team has enough potential and new boys are also making their way in international cricket. There’s certainly a bright future ahead for us.
“The emergence of Babar Azam as a mega star across all formats is very good news for Pakistan cricket. He remained number one in T20I cricket and is in the top ten batsmen in the ODI cricket. 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.
“Some of the new bowlers like Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi have arrived at the scene and they have been impressive in Test cricket.
“Naseem got a five-fer in the last Test against Sri Lanka. Shaheen bowled well in the World Cup and he showed glimpses of being a Test bowler in South Africa, and bowled really well in Australia and here in Pakistan against Sri Lanka.
“We will hopefully bank on these two promising fast-bowlers in the future.
“Overall, we are on the right track. The more we play the longer format, the more we will improve. We need to do a lot of work in white-ball cricket ahead of the all-important ICC T20 World Cup next year.
“Retaining number one position in T20Is was a big positive for us. No doubt, we did not perform up to the set standards, but this is something we look to build on.
“Mohammad Rizwan performed very well for us in Australia, which was very good for us. Iftikhar Ahmed joined the team in the latter part of the year and the way he has put up performances in the T20I performances was certainly a plus for us.
“We can go a long way with a few more additions in the side and the present players maturing.”
===
Misbah-ul-Haq quotes from PCB Video
“Starting from beginning of the South Africa series, it was a tough year for Pakistan cricket, then our series against Australia was also tough but we finished well with the Test series against Sri Lanka”
“Overall if we see this was a tough year for Pakistan in Test cricket”
“We had a luxury that we were enjoying before 2019 with the openers such as Fakhar Zaman being in good form; But then before the World Cup as we saw in the series against England and Australia and then during the World Cup itself, we had the misfortune that some of the main players who we had been banking on and those who had helped us win the Champions Trophy such as Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali were out of form; Shadab Khan was also out of form and this meant that our ODI and T20I performances suffered”
“We managed to stay number one in T20Is throughout the year but overall our win/loss ratio decreased with us winning just one T20I game out of 10 matches”
“Going forward we need to improve a lot of things in red and white ball cricket”
“This team has a lot of potential, with some young players looking to make a place for themselves in international cricket and we are seeing a good future for this young team”
“If we look at 2019, we have a mega-star in cricket who has proven himself across all formats is Babar Azam”
“He is number in T20Is, and is also top 10 in ODIs; He played an important innings in the World Cup, then as a Test batsman proved his mettle in Australia and then got 2 100s in Pakistan too”
“This is very good news for Pakistan”
“We also have some excellent new bowlers like Naseem Shah who took a 5fer against Sri Lanka and then Shaheen Shah Afridi who did well in the 2019 World Cup; We saw a glimpse of his talent as a Test bowler in South Africa but then the way he bowled in Australia and in Pakistan, that is good news for Pakistan in the coming times”
“Hopefully we will bank on Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi as these two will do big things for Pakistan”
“We need to do a lot of work on T20I cricket especially going into the T20 World Cup”
“Mohammad Rizwan’s performances in Australia was very good for us”
“The way Iftikhar Ahmed played in Australia in T20Is, that was also a plus for us”
“We can build on this and if our boys can mature further, we can go a long way”
“We took some tough decisions in the year such as playing a very young bowling attack”
“Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah’s problems were all those that came to the fore when I started my tenure”
“We tried some combinations and also Sarfaraz Ahmed’s low form also effected the performances of the Pakistan team”
“Both the team and I have now faced a difficult time but slowly, we are getting there”
“We need to continuously play cricket and that is a challenge for us; With Bangladesh there is no surety about what will happen; After a long time we played 4 Tests with 2 at home and now if we have a break for a long time then that is not good for Pakistan team in Tests”
“When you play after gaps of 4 months then your problems increase as your team cannot develop and there is no momentum”
“This period of 2 months or so which includes the time before PSL and after that, is the time we need to find solutions for white and red ball cricket”
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