PAK vs SL | Need to show patience with Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal, says Misbah-ul-Haq

10/07/2019

Pakistan's head coach and chief selector has come forward to the defense of misfiring duo Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad and has stated that patience is key with them. After winning the ODI series 2-0, Pakistan slumped to a crushing 64-run defeat by Sri Lanka in the first T20I in Lahore on Saturday.

One of the major talking points in the first T20I between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was the return of the duo of Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal, both of whom failed to make their mark on their comeback. The decision to select the duo came under fire from many an expert, including Rameez Raja, questioning the team management over that particular move. Shehzad and Akmal scored 4 and 0 respectively, adding little value to the team.

However, Misbah-ul-Haq, who is now the head coach and the chief selector, believes that these are still early times and that there's no need to press the panic button. The former skipper believes that the returning players will need time to settle down and has pleaded the general public to not be critical of them.

"There is no need to press the panic button. I would ask the critics to go easy on the players who fail. When a player makes comeback, he needs time to settle down again and perform,” Misbah told the media in Lahore ahead of the second T20 against Sri Lanka on Monday, reported Hindustan Times.

While both Shehzad and Akmal have done well in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the move to leave out stalwart Fakhar Zaman was indeed a controversial one, especially considering the kind of damage the southpaw has inflicted on opposition bowlers in the past. However, Misbah has defended the selection and has said that selection calls are being made taking into account the bigger scheme of things, the T20 World Cup in 2020, in mind and insisted that patience was key when it came to the returning players.

“I think when you experiment keeping in mind next year’s World T20 in Australia, one has to be patient with the recalled players and allow them to perform in order to get positive results," Misbah said.

"Results will not always go your way but we have to be patient. I am confident that we can comeback in the series strongly,” he concluded.

The second T20I will also be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Monday.