Misbah said that the T20 side was on decline when he took the charge.
Former Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar was angry with the current Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq’s latest “losing streak” statement, as he slammed him for making lame excuses by saying “honest and strong people don't complain but take decisions”.
Misbah is already under pressure due to Pakistan’s poor results under his reign and the team's disappointing tour of England where they could only manage to level the three-match T20I series 1-1 and suffered a 0-1 defeat in the Test series, questioned his position as the head of the side.
Following the England series, Misbah received a lot of criticism especially from former Pakistan players with some even advising that the former skippers should be relieved of one of the two key positions.
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Misbah started on Monday: “Of course, the team was number one but if you recall, when I came even then the team was on a losing streak. The team had already lost in South Africa, England, and other places. The slide had already begun and everyone knows why that was. Some of our players were out of form. Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, and then Hasan Ali, the main contributors to our rise up the ranking. When they went into a slump, the team also felt that dip.”
Under Misbah, Pakistan has won two Tests and lost three, won two out of three ODIs (one match was rain abandoned), and won three T20Is out of 12 with three washouts in the last 12 months and even the Men in Green slipped to the 4th spot in T20 rankings and are at the seventh spot in Test rankings.
Pakistan was the number one T20 side in the world when Misbah joined the team, but he claimed that the team was on a losing streak even before he assumed the role of a head coach.
Well, the comments didn’t go down well with Akhtar and he lambasted Misbah for making excuses, saying he should take the responsibility to find solutions and fix the mess that Pakistan cricket is in at the moment rather than complaining.
Akhtar said on Geo TV: “Honest and strong people don't complain but take decisions. If I had been in his place, I would have said that it is my fault, I will set it right. That is the straight point. He should have said that what had happened earlier or not happened is left behind, and now that I am at the job, I will improve things.”
The former speedster further added, “Playing around here and there, is probably Misbah but this is not me. I am not like that. Whatever has happened, now that you are there, you need to say with confidence that you are there now, you will see how to set things right.”
However, The Rawalpindi Express said he will be the first one to support Misbah if he would be bold with his statements and not blame the team for his failures. Akhtar signed off by saying, “I am also giving him a message. Saying that the team was already going down, what sort of talk is that. He needs to come strong. If he makes a strong statement, I will be the first person to support him.”