LAHORE: Pakistan Test and One-day International captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Tuesday said that Pakistan’s defeat in the last T20 match of the three-match T20 series against Australia in the UAE should be taken as a wake-up call before going to compete in the World Twenty20.

Misbah, who was earlier reluctant to talk to the media, gathered some courage and said: “The third Twenty20 was one-sided and the team should learn from such a big defeat at the hands of Aussies.”

But soon he defended the Pakistan team, saying having lost the ODI series to Australia 2-1 (under his captaincy), triumph in the T20 series with the same margin (under Hafeez captaincy) was a significant achievement.

Commenting on defeat in the ODI series against Aussies, the Test and ODI captain said: “Everyone wants to take credit in case of win, but when the team loses only the captain should not be held responsible.”

He said performance of every individual was important in winning matches, adding: “I did not want to hit my critics hard, but I would advise them to analyse performance of every player.”

About Pakistan’s chances in the World Twenty20, Misbah, who is not part of the national side, said that everyone would have to perform well and the team should seek to avoid results they produced in the recent ODI series against Australia.

To a question, he admitted that since Sri Lanka had not had services of great spinner like Muttiah Muralitharan, pitches might be fast due to which Saeed Ajmal may face difficulties, adding: “Fast bowlers could play a vital role on pitches in Sri Lanka and first six overs would be of great importance for every team.”

About his future Misbah said he would play the domestic matches to keep himself fit for the upcoming series against India scheduled to be held in December this year. —Sports Reporter