Misbah searches for answers as Pak face whitewash
Top-ranked Pakistan is facing a rare 3-0 whitewash in a Twenty20 bilateral series when it takes on an inexperienced Sri Lanka side in the third and final match on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka’s key players opted out of the series due to security concerns, but the visitors haven’t missed them as they registered two emphatic victories in Lahore, with Pakistan choosing to experiment rather than fielding tried-and-tested players.
Recalled Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad failed in both matches, with Akmal getting golden ducks and Shehzad scores of 4 and 13 before he was clean bowled both times.
“If they weren’t able to perform what can be done?” questioned a frustrated-looking head coach and chief selector, Misbah-ul-Haq, after his team lost on Monday. “Obviously I am answerable, but to build up a team, you need to do some experiments to get your answers.
“When you play someone in international cricket, with a couple of games you understand the utility of a player. We need to show some patience.”
The recall of Akmal and Shehzad was not well received by sections of home supporters or former Pakistan cricketers.
“Pakistan T20 season has begun on a sour note under new team management. It had to. If you select recycled known mishits what else do you expect. Absolutely horrendous selection. I ask: Why fix it if it’s not broken,” tweeted former captain Ramiz Raja after Pakistan lost the first match last Saturday.
And Ramiz was equally disparaging after Pakistan lost the second match by 35 runs.
“Alarmingly poor were Pakistan - again!,” he posted on Twitter.
But Misbah said he had to try out Akmal and Shehzad against Sri Lanka, especially after both batsmen scored heavily over the last year in domestic cricket.
“Both these players have performed well wherever they’ve played in the last year,” he said. “Ahmed’s performance in PSL was remarkable enough for a chance, while Umar, whichever format he played, was among the good ones.
“It is unfortunate that in our circuit, there is no other batsman in T20s who had performed better than them. Players who have performed in domestic cricket surely deserve a chance, and that’s why we offered them.”