Misbah gives key advice to struggling Pakistan

Former Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq has suggested that Pakistan should play with two spinners in UAE.

Talking to wisden.pk, Misbah said, “I think the inexperience led to Pakistan’s defeat in Abu Dhabi.”

Commenting on Pakistan’s defeat, he said, “It was a small target but the way the batsmen batted showed their inexperience. They did not attack Herath and when you don’t do that, he bowls at his best; it’s then tough to play him.”

Misbah suggested Pakistan should go with three pacers but said ideally; two spinners should be played in the UAE.

He recalled a match against South Africa and said, “There was grass and the pitch looked good. You can’t assume you will get to make first use of it because it depends on the toss. We played three seamers here in the Test against South Africa and won despite losing the toss.”

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“Maybe they took the grass and the moisture into account but ideally, whatever be the conditions, considering the heat and the fact that the pitch gets dry quickly, one should play with two spinners.”

Misbah also agreed with the batting positions that were in vogue for this Test, with Azhar Ali coming back to his customary one-drop slot from opening and Asad Shafiq promoted from No. 6 to No. 4.

“Look, your experienced batsman bats up the order,” said Misbah. “Asad was playing too low, he had to come up. I think No. 6 was low for him. Sarfraz is also batting low at No. 7, given that he has an average of 40 and he bats well against spinners.

“Asad is okay at No. 4 and the change was good. The openers needed to be experienced because after me and Younis, there was a gap, there were worrying signs,” he added.