We Could Have Won The Test Series 1-0 and T20I 2-0: Misbah-Ul-Haq Rues Missed Opportunities On England Tour

Misbah-Ul-Haq, Pakistan head coach and chief selector, has expressed his regret over his sides’ inability to finish off games from a winning position during the recently concluded tour of England.

Pakistan lost the three-match Test series 0-1 after they squandered a seemingly match-winning position in the first Test after having reduced England to 5-117 in the fourth innings. Misbah-Ul-Haq, during a press conference held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, said that some ‘technical’ and ‘tactical’ mistakes led to Pakistan not getting the results that they would have hoped for. He also reckoned that Pakistan should have won the Test and T20I series 1-0 and 2-0.

”This was a very important tour for us, and world cricket, bearing in mind Covid-19 situation. Players went for the tour without any preparation but the way they played cricket and showed discipline should be appreciated,” Misbah-Ul-Haq was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan,

”Obviously my biggest regret is in terms of results as we could have won the Test series 1-0 and T20I 2-0. We made some technical and tactical mistakes, which did not help our cause,” he added.

Also Read- Misbah-Ul-Haq Will Be Asked To Reflect On His Own And Team’s Performances- Ehsan Mani

‘We are on the right track’- Misbah-Ul-Haq

Pakistan seam-bowling attack of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah struggled during the Test series. Misbah said that the bowling group is inexperienced and the fans as well as the media need to patient with them before reaching a definitive conclusion.

”Our bowling is inexperienced at the moment. We need to be patient and give these bowlers time to develop before reaching any conclusion. They panicked a bit in the first Test and the second T20I but after they have more experience under their belt, such a thing will not happen.” Misbah-Ul-Haq said.

Pakistan Cricket Team hasn’t been able to achieve the consistency that they would have liked in Misbah’s tenure but the former skipper reckons that the team is on the right track.

”I’m satisfied with the process. We are on the right track despite the results not going our way,” he said. “I’m confident that things will improve in the future.” he added.

Earlier in the week, PCB chairperson Ehsan Mani said that the board will ask Misbah to evaluate his as well the team’s performance in the past 12 months and present before his vision for Pakistan cricket.