Bureau Report
Karachi: Pakistan men’s team head coach Misbah-ul-Haq is likely to get sacked before the South Africa series, scheduled to start from January 26, ARY News reported.
According to sources, batting coach Younis Khan is the top candidate to replace Misbah as interim head coach for the upcoming series while Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will post advertisements for a foreign head coach after the series against South Africa.
Note, Misbah and bowling coach Waqar Younis will also appear before the PCB’s cricket committee tomorrow after the national team’s miserable performance in the New Zealand series.
Update
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has denied reports regarding head coach Misbah-ul-Haq’s removal following the national team’s repeated failures. Meanwhile, Pakistan men’s team head coach Misbah-ul-Haq is ready to welcome Mohammad Amir despite his harsh reservations with the current team management.
46-year-old Misbah emphasized that Amir was dropped from the side due to lackluster performances and there was nothing personal.
“Amir’s recent performance was not up to the mark as compared to the other bowlers including Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain,” Misbah said in a presser at Gaddafi Stadium.
“He is a quality bowler and, even though what has happened, if he plays and performs to the expectations, I will welcome him in the side,” he added.
Misbah clarified that he always communicated with Amir to lead the bowling department as a senior player just like Mohammad Hafeez is doing for Pakistan.
“I respected his decision of taking retirement from Tests but in shorter formats, he and Wahab have to lead the department as you can’t go on a survival mode of performing in one match out of five,” he maintained. It must be noted here that Amir parted ways with international cricket after citing mental pressure given to him by head coach Misbah and bowling coach Waqar Younis.
“I can’t tolerate it anymore. They are continuously giving me mental pressure and now I can’t play further cricket under this management,” he was quoted as saying. The left-arm pacer also informed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s Chief Executive Wasim Khan about his decision. PCB, in their statement, confirmed that Amir had shown unavailability for future tours. Pakistan men’s team head coach Misbah-ul-Haq thinks that he is not the only factor behind the national team’s bad performances over the past year.
The 46-year-old Misbah will appear before the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) cricket committee along with bowling coach Waqar Younis after the team’s disappointing performance on the tour of New Zealand. Misbah wants the cricket committee to do ‘fact-based analysis’ which will further help the cricket of Pakistan.
“We have to understand all factors behind team’s defeat. There can’t just be me behind the dipping in performances. Nothing will change If one person leaves the system but we must address all the problems realistically,” Misbah said in a presser at Gaddafi Stadium.
Misbah took responsibility for the team’s defeat but wants critics to understand the reasons behind failures.
“The players worked hard in the available resources and conditions after going through a tough quarantine in New Zealand,” he added.
“COVID-19 is impacting not just our performances but it has affected other teams like India and Sri Lanka too. Cricket is completely changing due to the virus but now we have to get accustomed to this,” he maintained.
Misbah believes skipper Babar Azam’s injury was also the biggest factor behind the defeat. “Babar’s injury was a big miss for us as he has been among runs in the past year or so.
His absence was equaled to New Zealand playing without Kane Williamson,” he added.
“We should also accept that the Blackcaps were better than us in all three departments. They have been playing good cricket for the past couple of years. We also tried our best on the field during the series but unfortunately, results did not go our way,” he maintained.
