Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
"We'll try to bring a vice-captain on board soon, groom him until Azhar is playing" : Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq on Ten Sports after the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka:
"We had a debate about playing Abid Ali in Australia. Finally, we came to the conclusion that Imam has been playing international cricket in SA etc. so he should be given a chance first in Australia. For Abid, it would have been a completely new experience"
"Abid has been playing for the A team consistently but sometimes you have a combination of players. Hafeez was playing previously and he had an added advantage of bowling. We had a set batting lineup too. Sometimes you're not able to break in, but he was on the scene. Lots of credit for him, he performed every time he was given a chance"
"I would advise Abid to continue to play the way he is playing in ODIs and Tests and concentrate on these formats, that's more important for Pakistan. Sometimes in an effort to become a T20 player, you start losing your shape as a batsman. If you understand that, like Hashim Amla did, he played the same type of cricket and relied on cricketing shots. Here, it's a bit different. Azhar in the beginning was playing some T20 cricket and he was deviating from his natural game"
"Azhar has been playing for a while and he's gone through these situations, it happened in England and also before that Sharjah historical match, he had gone through a poor run and it was a make or break innings for him. So someone who has been through that before has an idea of the process and knows that he needs to continue working hard. But when you haven't been through these situations, you give up and it becomes difficult. He is mentally strong and the good thing is that he kept working hard and in a pressure situation, he played according to the requirements"
"Azhar has experience of captaincy and he has international cricket experience. After playing so much cricket, you can't survive without cricketing sense. We needed a captain right now, specially one who can lead with performances. In the long term, we have to look towards someone who can serve Pakistan for 8-10 years at least and we are in discussions about that and we're thinking about it. We will try to bring a vice-captain on board soon and groom him until Azhar is playing, so that we have the next person ready. When Azhar was made captain also, we were thinking about this long term vision and we had debate about it. Insha'Allah, we will take a decision soon on this"
"It's a big achievement because of the situation, we lost home series to NZ then lost Tests in SA and Aus. We're just sitting there and thinking for some good news at least which gives you confidence and there is nothing better than victory which takes you in the right direction. That helps you to start thinking positively"
"After a long time, we won a Test match on the basis of fast-bowlers' performances, that too in Pakistan. Our performances previously were centred around spinners like Yasir Shah. This is a new era where you need fast-bowling, like we had in the 90s and before. If our fast-bowlers are winning us matches here then once we go overseas, we have more chances"
"Test cricket is such that you need to forget about series, every Test match is an event. Put series aside, if there is a 3 match series and you lose 2 and win 1, that is an achievement. No matter how much T20I or ODI cricket you play, the Test match we won today makes you feel like you have achieved something big. You can't compare Test cricket to any other format"
"This young team needs improvement in many things, if we continue to win then it will be important for Pakistan cricket and this team"
Misbah-ul-Haq on Ten Sports after the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka:
"We had a debate about playing Abid Ali in Australia. Finally, we came to the conclusion that Imam has been playing international cricket in SA etc. so he should be given a chance first in Australia. For Abid, it would have been a completely new experience"
"Abid has been playing for the A team consistently but sometimes you have a combination of players. Hafeez was playing previously and he had an added advantage of bowling. We had a set batting lineup too. Sometimes you're not able to break in, but he was on the scene. Lots of credit for him, he performed every time he was given a chance"
"I would advise Abid to continue to play the way he is playing in ODIs and Tests and concentrate on these formats, that's more important for Pakistan. Sometimes in an effort to become a T20 player, you start losing your shape as a batsman. If you understand that, like Hashim Amla did, he played the same type of cricket and relied on cricketing shots. Here, it's a bit different. Azhar in the beginning was playing some T20 cricket and he was deviating from his natural game"
"Azhar has been playing for a while and he's gone through these situations, it happened in England and also before that Sharjah historical match, he had gone through a poor run and it was a make or break innings for him. So someone who has been through that before has an idea of the process and knows that he needs to continue working hard. But when you haven't been through these situations, you give up and it becomes difficult. He is mentally strong and the good thing is that he kept working hard and in a pressure situation, he played according to the requirements"
"Azhar has experience of captaincy and he has international cricket experience. After playing so much cricket, you can't survive without cricketing sense. We needed a captain right now, specially one who can lead with performances. In the long term, we have to look towards someone who can serve Pakistan for 8-10 years at least and we are in discussions about that and we're thinking about it. We will try to bring a vice-captain on board soon and groom him until Azhar is playing, so that we have the next person ready. When Azhar was made captain also, we were thinking about this long term vision and we had debate about it. Insha'Allah, we will take a decision soon on this"
"It's a big achievement because of the situation, we lost home series to NZ then lost Tests in SA and Aus. We're just sitting there and thinking for some good news at least which gives you confidence and there is nothing better than victory which takes you in the right direction. That helps you to start thinking positively"
"After a long time, we won a Test match on the basis of fast-bowlers' performances, that too in Pakistan. Our performances previously were centred around spinners like Yasir Shah. This is a new era where you need fast-bowling, like we had in the 90s and before. If our fast-bowlers are winning us matches here then once we go overseas, we have more chances"
"Test cricket is such that you need to forget about series, every Test match is an event. Put series aside, if there is a 3 match series and you lose 2 and win 1, that is an achievement. No matter how much T20I or ODI cricket you play, the Test match we won today makes you feel like you have achieved something big. You can't compare Test cricket to any other format"
"This young team needs improvement in many things, if we continue to win then it will be important for Pakistan cricket and this team"
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