''There Is A Bright Future For Us'' - Misbah-Ul-Haq Confident Of The Rise Of Pakistan Cricket

Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said it was a tough year for the country in Test cricket while reviewing the team’s performances throughout the year. Pakistan lost Test series against Australia and South Africa before redeeming some pride with a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka to end the year on a high. 2019 also saw Pakistan sack former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed to reappoint Azhar Ali as the skipper in the longest format of the game.

It has been a memorable year for Pakistan as international cricket returned to their country after a decade, but their sluggish performance on the field overshadowed the joy of it. Pakistan were beaten comprehensively in overseas, and also failed to make it to the semifinals of the World Cup owing to their poor net run rate.

Read More: England And Wales Cricket Board Backs Proposal For Four-Day Tests: Report

Our Win Ratio Has Fallen – Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakistan also suffered a humiliating T20I series defeat at the hands of a second-string Sri Lanka side at home following which Sarfaraz was removed as captain. However, the Test series victory against Sri Lanka has helped Pakistan to garner a bit of pride. Speaking of the same, Misbah-ul-Haq said that they need to work on specific aspects to grow in stature in the upcoming year.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

“Pakistan ended 2019 on a high note with a victory against Sri Lanka, but, overall, it was a tough year for Pakistan in Test cricket. In white-ball cricket, our mainstays like Fakhar, Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan, on the back of whom we had won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, lost form at a crucial time which saw us suffer in the ODI World Cup and T20I format,” Misbah said as per PCB.

”Though, we managed to stay number one in the format throughout the year. Overall, our win ratio in T20I cricket has fallen. Going further, we have to improve a lot of things in both red-ball and white-ball cricket. This team has enough potential and new boys are also making their way in international cricket. There’s certainly a bright future ahead for us,” the former captain added.

Babar Azam’s rise is positive for Pakistan:

Amidst all the concerns, Misbah-ul-Haq cited that the rise of Babar Azam was brilliant for Pakistan. He stated that Azam has grown from strength to strength to garner a massive name for himself, across the formats.

“The emergence of Babar Azam as a mega star across all formats is very good news for Pakistan cricket. He remained number one in T20I cricket and is in the top ten batsmen in the ODI cricket. He played some brilliant innings in the World Cup and ended the year by establishing himself as a Test batsman with scintillating performances in Australia and two centuries against Sri Lanka in Pakistan,” he said.

Read More – Pakistan player invited to be part of Asia XI

All in all, it was a tough year for Pakistan. However, they would like to make the most of the upcoming bilateral series and would like to stamp their authority in the forthcoming ICC T20I World Cup 2020 and Asia Cup.