"Pakistan team needs a power-hitting batsman like Asif Ali" : Misbah-ul-Haq

[MenInG]

"I have been saying this from before that Pakistan in T20 cricket needs a batsman who can come in and hit out at a high strike rate; This is what is missing in Pak team; I think his (Asif Ali's) temperament is good and I hope he can perform for the Pak team" : Misbah-ul-Haq


======

Misbah-ul-Haq, the captain of the two-time Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions Islamabad United, has expressed great pride at Asif Ali’s selection in the national squad for the T20 home series against West Indies.

The former Pakistan captain, speaking to reporters at a sports event earlier today, said the national team has long needed power-hitters and that he is confident Asif Ali, who sealed Islamabad United’s title victory with three sixes against Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday, is the right man for the job.

“I’ve always said that the Pakistan team needs a [power-hitting] batsman like Asif Ali, who can come in during the middle overs and hit with a strike rate of 160, 170. That momentum has been missing [from the national team]. He has a good temperament and will hopefully contribute [his best] to the Pakistan team as well.”

Misbah credited his team’s success to the hard work of the players and the management. “Credit to the players, to the entire team. From the selection to execution, we did our homework. We had a very strong bench, with backups for every position [in case of any injury etc.] All this benefitted us,” said the skipper, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury in the first few games and a wrist fracture in the knockout matches.

The 43-year old resolved to prepare more players for the national side in the fourth edition of PSL next year. He further said that all those who performed exceptionally in PSL should be given a chance in the Pakistan team.

“Otherwise, players will get disappointed and [demoralised]. But selectors have their own vision and plan, so [I can’t say much],” he added.

26-year old Asif Ali, along with fellow Islamabad United all-rounder Hussain Talat and Lahore Qalandars’ pace sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi, has been named in the Pakistan T20 squad which will play West Indies in Karachi on April 1, 2 and 3.

https://thefrontierpost.com/pakistan-team-needs-power-hitter-like-asif-ali-says-misbah/

 

[MenInG]

I sense something special about Asif Ali!

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

like most players/coaches talks the right game when they are no longer in a position to enact it


Asif Ali proved me wrong in the PSL, he fully merits a place in the t20 side and i hope he nails it down, but an ODI call up is a long way away.

You cant judge soley on stats but a list A average of 19 is truly damning. He needs good performances in List A and T20I before he can be considered for anything else.

 

[MenInG]

like most players/coaches talks the right game when they are no longer in a position to enact it


Asif Ali proved me wrong in the PSL, he fully merits a place in the t20 side and i hope he nails it down, but an ODI call up is a long way away.

You cant judge soley on stats but a list A average of 19 is truly damning. He needs good performances in List A and T20I before he can be considered for anything else.

I think he will do well against WI (if he plays) but the real test will come on foreign tours

 

[Savak]

Asif Ali looks like a natural striker. I loved his hitting technique and it is something I haven't seen in a Pakistani player for a while

 

[Syed1]

So nice of Mr. Saviour Misbah ul Haq to act all holier than thou and say "I told you so"... but what was he doing when he himself was in a position to make changes? Asif Ali made his T20 debut in 2011 and hit a ton on debut. He was playing for the same team as Misbah. Here is scorecard of the match:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...roup-b-faysal-bank-super-eight-t-20-cup-2011/




Why didn't Mr. Saviour induct him in the side when he was captain? Why did he keep the likes of Azhar, Shafiq and Shehzad in and around his squad?



As someone rightly said "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan". Now all of a sudden we will get people like Misbah sprouting up claiming that they always wanted Asif to be selected in the national side.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

I think he will do well against WI (if he plays) but the real test will come on foreign tours

I think he can do well in t20s, you can get away on just relying on natural ability and still have a good career as long as you stay fit.

Beyond that he needs to improve or rather make a middle game, actually defend and take singles.

 

[babajee]

I think he can do well in t20s, you can get away on just relying on natural ability and still have a good career as long as you stay fit.

Beyond that he needs to improve or rather make a middle game, actually defend and take singles.

I’m excited for this guy... he’s only gonna improve in the national set up.

 

[Hasan123]

Excited to see how he does as his type of player is not something which we have.

 

[Siraj.Hussain]

Surely the ideal thing to do in the future immediately after the PSL is to have an A team tour in somewhere like England, where a squad is chosen from the best performing players from the PSL who are on the periphery of the Pakistan team. Players ideally would be young, but don't have to be.
After this PSL, the team would look something like:

Sahibzada Farhan
Kamran Akmal
Saif Badar
Agha Salman
Hussain Talat
Asif Ali
Zafar Gohar
Umaid Asif
Ibtisam Sheikh
Shaheen Shah
Sameen Gul

Sohail Akhtar
Hasan Khan
Amad Butt

This of course would require a brain that could comprehend beyond bringing cricket home to Pakistan, as important as that is...

 

[Shafi]

In PSL Misbah did far better than Sarfraz to promote young players.

 

[HuzaifaE]

Surely the ideal thing to do in the future immediately after the PSL is to have an A team tour in somewhere like England, where a squad is chosen from the best performing players from the PSL who are on the periphery of the Pakistan team. Players ideally would be young, but don't have to be.
After this PSL, the team would look something like:

Sahibzada Farhan
Kamran Akmal
Saif Badar
Agha Salman
Hussain Talat
Asif Ali
Zafar Gohar
Umaid Asif
Ibtisam Sheikh
Shaheen Shah
Sameen Gul

Sohail Akhtar
Hasan Khan
Amad Butt

This of course would require a brain that could comprehend beyond bringing cricket home to Pakistan, as important as that is...

Kamran Akmal in his latter 30s is an absolutely disgraceful waste of space in a developmental A team. I can defend him in the national side much more easily than I can in a Pak A team.

 

[moghul]

Now he talking , should have been acted when he was the captain, by replacing himself with a power hitter.

 

[moghul]

In PSL Misbah did far better than Sarfraz to promote young players.

Sarfraz played and performed, Misbah just occupied a youngster's spot.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Asif Ali looks like Razzaq, a little robotic (no facial expressions) with powerful arms.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

So nice of Mr. Saviour Misbah ul Haq to act all holier than thou and say "I told you so"... but what was he doing when he himself was in a position to make changes? Asif Ali made his T20 debut in 2011 and hit a ton on debut. He was playing for the same team as Misbah. Here is scorecard of the match:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...roup-b-faysal-bank-super-eight-t-20-cup-2011/




Why didn't Mr. Saviour induct him in the side when he was captain? Why did he keep the likes of Azhar, Shafiq and Shehzad in and around his squad?



As someone rightly said "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan". Now all of a sudden we will get people like Misbah sprouting up claiming that they always wanted Asif to be selected in the national side.

I get your point, but do you really think Misbah had the power at the time, I mean look at Ahmed Shehzad.

 

[Railu Katta]

Misbah will be criticized by the usual bunch regardless of what he says

 

[shariqnoor]

So nice of Mr. Saviour Misbah ul Haq to act all holier than thou and say "I told you so"... but what was he doing when he himself was in a position to make changes? Asif Ali made his T20 debut in 2011 and hit a ton on debut. He was playing for the same team as Misbah. Here is scorecard of the match:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...roup-b-faysal-bank-super-eight-t-20-cup-2011/




Why didn't Mr. Saviour induct him in the side when he was captain? Why did he keep the likes of Azhar, Shafiq and Shehzad in and around his squad?



As someone rightly said "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan". Now all of a sudden we will get people like Misbah sprouting up claiming that they always wanted Asif to be selected in the national side.

Oh please!!! Misbah retired from T20s in 2012. You don't pick players for national teams just because of one innings. And Asif's List A stats are horrendous. If he was selected in the ODIs, you would've been the first one to cry out nepotism.

And it is Misbah who stuck with Asif Ali when he didn't perform as well in PSL 1 and 2. Back then he was termed as Misbah's friend. Now when Asif Ali has performed, oh what great selection by Islamabad United. Classic case of double standards here.

With people who perennially hate Misbah, even if Misbah creates a cure for cancer, guys like you will complain he should've done it with more elegance and style.

 

[Titan24]

I told you guys about Asif Ali from the very start of PSL 3.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

He is like Mukhtar with a better technique. Should be a lower order finisher. Needed to reach the 350 totals in ODIs.

 

[Major]

So nice of Mr. Saviour Misbah ul Haq to act all holier than thou and say "I told you so"... but what was he doing when he himself was in a position to make changes? Asif Ali made his T20 debut in 2011 and hit a ton on debut. He was playing for the same team as Misbah. Here is scorecard of the match:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...roup-b-faysal-bank-super-eight-t-20-cup-2011/




Why didn't Mr. Saviour induct him in the side when he was captain? Why did he keep the likes of Azhar, Shafiq and Shehzad in and around his squad?



As someone rightly said "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan". Now all of a sudden we will get people like Misbah sprouting up claiming that they always wanted Asif to be selected in the national side.

Bro.Misbah tried to get Asif ali in the team

I remember many times Misbah placed his name forward but he never got the approval from selection comitittee

I remember many times in the past when on twitter reports use to come Misbah favouring for Asif Ali and even Ayub Dogar for test but they were turned down.

 

[fawad_wellwisher]

Hitting 3 sixes in the final is performing? Where is the consistency in his game?

 

[UN talkz]

Hitting 3 sixes in the final is performing? Where is the consistency in his game?

He was consistent throughout this psl.

 

[Syed1]

Bro.Misbah tried to get Asif ali in the team

I remember many times Misbah placed his name forward but he never got the approval from selection comitittee

You just need a reason to bash him, could tell from your tone in the post.

I remember many times in the past when on twitter reports use to come Misbah favouring for Asif Ali and even Ayub Dogar for test but they were turned down.

He is a pathetic cricketer and I will call him out where ever I deem fit. Karlo jo karna hai. He single handedly took all three of our teams to absolute bottom of the rankings but is still put on a pedestal by people like you.


As for Asif Ali, if Misbah was so confident in his abilities why did he not induct him in the side. Take cue from Imran Khan who threatened to resign if Inzimam wasn't selected, but oh I forgot the most important thing for savior Misbah was his captaincy. Doesn't matter if the team is performing or not bus captaincy na jaye. He got what he deserved unceremoniously booted out in all three formats.

 

[Sherlock]

No harm in trying him out in the T20s. Everything after that will be a risk until he does something in the lesser format.

 

[Major]

I remember during a selection meeting reports were coming in on twitter how misbah was trying hard to get asif ali into the squad in place of umar akmal. they kept turning down his request.


SO no one should be saying here that Misbah didn't try to get him in the pakistani team.

 

[Baigel]

This!! I love this Idea. Have a couple "A" tours against the likes of Surrey and Essex and also local teams in New Zealand and South Africa and then select the top players from these tours. It will take time, but, I bet Mickey will be in favor of this idea due to his vision of a young Pakistani team.

- Lets only play youngsters and take out the likes of Kami
- Top performers throughout the PSL should be added to the Pakistani Squad
- Keep this side for players with potential from the domestic circuit and the PSl

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank u champ for your contribution to Pakistan cricket and <a href="https://twitter.com/IsbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsbUnited</a>.It was a beautiful journey together and loved the way u adjusted so quickly with the team.U did a top job as a captain to lead the team to victory.U r such a nice and humble man. <a href="https://t.co/8Q5j7WP3JJ">https://t.co/8Q5j7WP3JJ</a></p>— Misbah Ul Haq (@captainmisbahpk) <a href="https://twitter.com/captainmisbahpk/status/978945301921792000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank u mate for your top class performances for <a href="https://twitter.com/IsbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsbUnited</a> and also your trip to Pakistan.Loved playing with u and inspired by your courage to present yourself in pressure situations.I hope u will forgive me for not bowling your full quota few times. <a href="https://t.co/YtOAYVXlA3">https://t.co/YtOAYVXlA3</a></p>— Misbah Ul Haq (@captainmisbahpk) <a href="https://twitter.com/captainmisbahpk/status/978948922507919361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Last three years of your company in <a href="https://twitter.com/IsbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsbUnited</a> were amazing.What a down to earth person u r.U always put team's interest ahead of your own.Being a champion bowler never showed any disappointment on not being picked for playing eleven and always helped me in decision making.&#55357;&#56399;&#55357;&#56399; <a href="https://t.co/LHyvnmLEk3">https://t.co/LHyvnmLEk3</a></p>— Misbah Ul Haq (@captainmisbahpk) <a href="https://twitter.com/captainmisbahpk/status/978985446012276742?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>