Misbah ul Haq’s credentials in the Pakistan team - Opinion
In Pakistan, some of the analysts and former cricketers are always looking for soft targets so that they can stay on the forefront of media most of the times. One such case is the undue criticism on Pakistan’s Test and One Day International
(ODI) skipper, Misbah ul Haq.
After the spot-fixing controversy in 2010, the Green Shirts were in tatters and were put under the scanner by the whole cricketing world. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 did a reasonable job for the country in the shorter formats of the game but it
was Misbah who brought a sense of stability to the national team and revived Pakistan’s performance in Test cricket.
Ex-Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-Butt-c2418, the then Test captain, by handing over the
reins to the cricketer from Mianwali, who was not even a part of the team previously.
One must give as much credit as possible to Butt for this extra-ordinary decision as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 is yet to lose a Test series under the middle-order batsman’s captaincy.
The former captain/coach of the national team, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Waqar-Younis-Maitla-c96193 also expressed same kind of sentiments earlier this year when he credited the 38-year-old for the revival of Pakistan cricket. Younis feels that Misbah has been able to consolidate
the situation for the Green Shirts because he is one of those very few cricketers produced by Pakistan, who are properly educated.
“You have to give full credit to Misbah as he has stabilised the team and leads from the front. His performance is also outstanding. He makes the boys feel comfortable and relaxed so they actually enjoy their cricket. He is mature
and willing to listen,” said Waqar.
A number of so-called experts of the game raise questions about his place in the team and criticise him for his low strike-rate. Those analysts however, tend to forget that the right-hander has better stats than most of the Pakistani
batsmen in all the three formats of the game.
Misbah is currently averaging 45.27 in Tests, 42.08 in ODIs and 37.52 in T20s, which are excellent numbers by international standards. One has to admit that Misbah’s strike-rate has been below par at times but every team needs such
batsmen, who can stabilize the situation in cases of early losses.
The Pakistan captain has taken his critics strongly in recent times and feels that most of the people who do not like his approach towards the game are non-cricketers. The 38-year-old expressed that he is at the prime of his game
at the moment and will continue to represent his country until he feels that he can deliver the goods at the ultimate level of the sport, despite the fact that he is in his late 30s now.
Misbah expressed, "Most of the critics are those who have not played cricket in their lives and one should not listen to them. My focus is on cricket and I will try to play my best cricket for Pakistan. When I feel I am not enjoying
cricket, there's no point playing it."
The sedate batsman has been recently replaced as the T20 captain by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898 but PCB must not make rapid changes in the other two versions of the sport and undue criticism should not be taken into account, which can easily break Pakistan’s momentum
towards resurgence.
Disclaimer: Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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