Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s coach and selector, is set to face questions from the Pakistan Cricket Board after his team’s poor showing in their tour of England.
Pakistan were beaten 1-0 in the three-match Test series, and then drew the T20Is 1-1. However, more than the results as such, it was the performances that were cause for concern.
In the Tests, they slipped from a promising position in the first Test to succumb to a three-wicket defeat, and were then made to follow on in the third Test (the second was washed out) after England posted 585-8 declared in the first innings.
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In the T20Is, Pakistan, the No.1 side in the format till May this year, struggled to contain England’s batsmen in the second match, and weren’t entirely convincing in their five-run series-levelling win in the final match.
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Misbah, who took over as Pakistan’s coach-cum-selector in October 2019, will now have to face the PCB committee and reflect on the tour. “I believe in empowerment and that’s precisely why Misbah was given full authority and support,” Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, told Dawn.com.
“But he very much remains accountable and as part of his appraisal process, he will be interviewed by the PCB Cricket Committee in the coming weeks in which he will be asked to reflect on his own and team’s performances, and share his vision for the future.”
With rain washing out the last two games, and England winning a thriller in the first, @Aadya_Wisden picks out the missteps in three vital passages of play that arguably cost Pakistan the series.#ENGvPAKhttps://t.co/712BAbakTQ
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 26, 2020
Pakistan are currently No.4 in the T20I rankings, and are sixth and seventh in ODIs and Tests respectively. Mani said there is need for greater consistency, and said the management team in place for the men’s side – apart from Misbah, Younis Khan, Pakistan’s highest Test-scorer, is batting coach and the legendary Waqar Younis is the bowling coach – is expected to deliver that.
“To address this problem and bring consistency in the team’s and players’ performance, the PCB has put in place a professional management team with the men’s side,” said Mani, “whose understanding of the modern game is second to none and has a clear vision of the steps required for Pakistan to perform well consistently at the international level.”