Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq believes that his batsmen need to improve their batting against spin if they want to do well in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in India.
His comments came after Pakistan thrashed South Africa in the final T20I to clinch the home series 2-1 on Sunday. He pointed out that the batsmen from both teams were struggling against the spinners in the recently-concluded T20I series and this is something Pakistan needs to work on.
Misbah told the media, “I think batsmen from both sides struggled in this series also because the spinners bowled well. But yes our batting against spin is something we need to look at and improve as even we can see the errors.
The fact is we are not playing spin well and if we are to do well in India where the World Cup is to be held we have to learn to play spin better and improve the way we play spinners.”
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The head coach also hinted that Pakistan’s senior batsmen like Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez are in his plans for the T20 World Cup 2021. Former Pakistan captain further noted: “When some players return things will improve and we need to work on it.”
He was also impressed with the performance of the debutant leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood in the T20I series against South Africa and hopes he will be useful for Pakistan in India later this year.
Misbah continued, “I think he bowled very well and he is a good addition to our pool of players. It is good to see we have a bunch of good spinners who are wicket-taking options for us especially in T20s and this will help in India.”
The coach also insisted that he isn’t worried about the T20 World Cup 2021 in India as Pakistan will have a great pool of players for the showpiece event following the upcoming PSL 2021.
He further explained, “The good thing is that now after the PSL we will have a good pool of players, seniors, and youngsters to choose from. I am not worried about the World Cup now as there is still time some eight months and we still have some 20 matches ahead of us so I think we will have a good pool of players to choose from going forward to the World Cup.”
Misbah also denied any insecurity about his job or position in the Pakistan team as this is not in his control and he is just focusing on his national duty.
He signed off by saying, “I don't take stress because of these things. What is in our control is how we perform on the field and that we keep following our best procedures and training schedules and preparation.”
(With PTI Inputs)
