Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad thinks that it is too soon to drop the experienced duo of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq based on the recent performances.
The legendary batsman in an interview with inews.co.uk, wants the coaching staff to help them out of their bad patch. “Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq have received criticism for their recent performances, but it’s too soon to drop them.”
“The Pakistan coaching staff needs to earn their salaries and work on restoring Azhar and Asad’s confidence and I’m sure better results will follow for both players,” he added.
On the other hand, Azhar has been heavily criticized for his captaincy during the Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler partnership in the first-Test defeat to England in Manchester.
Miandad emphasized that Azhar’s appointment points to a flawed selection process while picking senior team captain. “Azhar has been given the captaincy due to a lack of other candidates which isn’t the right way to go about this,” he added. “The problem is that in Pakistan, captaincy seems to be given to individuals based upon a whim. The result is that a Pakistan captain learns on the job instead of using his knowledge and experience, which is totally incorrect and people who have poor leadership skills are elevated into this role,” he maintained.
Miandad won’t be surprised if Pakistan level the series as their bowling attack has upper hand over inexperienced England’s batting. “As long as the Pakistani batsmen can learn from their mistakes and put up fighting totals, this Pakistan bowling attack has the edge over England’s batsmen, so don’t be surprised if this series finishes 1-1,” he concluded. – Agencies
