Test cricket important for player development: Misbah
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s conjoined head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq believes it is very important from players’ development point of view to play the longer version game, adding that at the end of the day Test records were considered more important as compared to the One-day internationals (ODIs) and T20s.
”People remember how many centuries Mohammad Yousuf made, Younis Khan scored 10,000 runs or Wasim Akram bagged 414 wickets in Test cricket. If you want to make a name for yourself in the cricketing world then you have to play Test cricket. We are encouraging the players to focus more on the longer version of the game,” he said in an interview to Cricingif.
He was of the view that players could not develop skills in T20 leagues and ODIs. “If you play your domestic cricket, which is an investment for the longer version of the game, then you can develop yourself thereby prolonging your career and T20 and ODI cricket will become easy for you,” he said.
Speaking about Pakistan’s prolific batsman and limited-overs captain Babar Azam, he said that the Lahore-born cricketer was in the learning process.
“Babar is ranked in the top-5 of all formats which shows that he has the game awareness. The more he will play, the more he will learn. I see him going in the right direction,” he said.
To a question, Misbah said that the wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan was being rewarded for his hard work. “He has performed consistently well in the domestic cricket and has worked very hard on his batting and wicket-keeping,” he said.
He said that the best thing about Rizwan was his temperament. “He takes on challenges and has the mindset to win the game for the team by doing something extraordinary. It’s a good sign for us as wicket-keeping is a vital link of the team,” he said and added that former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was also experienced and working hard which was a positive sign for the team.
About the recently concluded England tour, Misbah said: “We played good cricket in England. We dominated the England team in tough times and also made a comeback in the series. The direction of the team is right as it is going through a developmental phase,” he said.
Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2020
