Pakistan drew against Sri Lanka in the first test at Abu Dhabi on Saturday. This doesn’t mean Misbah-ul-Haq is a bad captain, or does not have the courage to go for the kill - as some angry fans have described it on various social media platforms.
We have to understand and appreciate the efforts made by Misbah, even if the end result seems a little defensive. Since Misbah has taken over as captain, Pakistan have not lost a test series, that too keeping in mind that his side plays their ‘home series’ at neutral venues.
When we look at Misbah’s 12 month tenure before this current series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan have played against a formidable South African side in UAE, a ‘home series’ in New Zealand, and away series in West Indies and Zimbabwe. The results: wins in New Zealand and Zimbabwe and draws against South Africa and West Indies.
During this time, Misbah has averaged a staggering 83.33, scoring 750 runs with one century and 8 half centuries in 8 tests.
His efforts have been complimented to some extent by the former coach Waqar Younis.
Under the combined wings of Misbah and Waqar, players like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan and Aizaz Cheema have grabbed their opportunities and the now seasoned Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar have matured to give Pakistan’s top order much-needed stability.
To date this year, Taufeeq Umar and Azhar Ali have scored more than 650 runs in addition to Mohammad Hafeez’s 450+ runs.
Despite the positives, Misbah’s captaincy has faced serious flak from former players and fans but that’s Misbah for you.
He’s the kind of a guy who goes for safety first and rightly so, considering the backlash from fans in the case of a loss.
It takes time to breed a winning mentality and it is an acquired process. Keeping in mind the thrashing at the hands of Australia and the losses in England in the recent past, this relatively new side cannot be blamed for playing it safe.
The recent results can be termed a resurgence of sorts even if the column on the right reads ‘draw.’
There are two more matches to go in this series, the men in green should know that the fans are behind them and backing them to produce more positives.
Sarosh Ebrahim is a sports enthusiast and a multimedia editor from Karachi. He can be reached on twitter: @msarosh