Not our fault if opposition isn't at full strength: Misbah

Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq isn't amused with potshots flung at his team following their victorious tour of Africa. While the Proteas lost out on their key players due to the IPL, Zimbabwe had senior players down with injuries. That the wins came against weakened opponents has taken a bit of sheen off the wins, something that Misbah doesn't agree with.

"South Africa did miss their key players but they were playing at home. Also, their replacements were able performers," explained Misbah. "It's unfortunate that we couldn't face their best side but in their own conditions, they were a strong side. You can only look after your own performances. It's not our fault if the opposition isn't at full strength."

Reviewing the team's performances across the two tours, Misbah said he was content with the net output. "It's really pleasing that these two tours (of South Africa and Zimbabwe) have gone well result-wise. Whenever you travel to South Africa, the conditions are quite different from what we have back home. It's always a boost for the team to go there and win.

"The performance in the Tests against Zimbabwe was also appreciable. There were some areas of concern and those were rectified - especially the openers. Fawad Alam also did really well. Encouraging signs for Pakistan cricket."

One of the major talking points of the tour was the debut handed out to 36-year-old seamer Tabish Khan in the final Test against Zimbabwe. Tabish took a solitary wicket in a dominant bowling display but has been a huge domestic success for well over a decade. It seemed like social media pressure played its part in his eventual selection. Misbah though, was quick to quash any such theory.

"We didn't give a chance to Tabish at the cost of hampering our strengths or team balance. It was a case of managing workload for Faheem [Ashraf] who has been an all-format player for us in recent times. He wasn't dropped at all. He is a key player for us. This was just an opportunity for us to test out a player who has been an excellent domestic performer. We have tried to give chances to the fringe players even in the shorter formats."

Misbah also expressed strong resentment at the judgemental attitude of people against relatively older players making a comeback or a start to international cricket. The 46-year-old, a late bloomer himself, cited his story as an example to defend a lot of the selections.

"We need to stop predetermining the future of players. I was captain at 36, I played for another seven years after that. We can't pre-judge that just because a player is 36 when he starts, he won't last long. Tabish has been performing in domestic cricket for years. Let's see how he does in international cricket.

"There are different factors in selection. Some team combinations are such that even a well-performing player doesn't make it. When I was doing well, our middle order was packed with Inzamam, Younis and Yousuf in it. Same with Fawad Alam. He couldn't make it earlier. It happens in every era. Even in Tabish Khan's case, it's the same. It has happened earlier too, during the times of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Regarding comebacks at a late age, I've always felt that if a player is fit enough, age doesn't matter. Especially for Test cricket. You can never predict how long they can serve the team. Whoever performs for the team should get chances."

Meanwhile, Misbah had words of praise for new skipper Babar Azam, who became the first Pakistan captain to win the first four games in-charge. "Captaincy is something that gets better with time. The more you face certain situations, the better you will be at it. Babar has a great cricketing sense, he has proved that in all formats with the bat already. He has to prove that now in his captaincy too. Hopefully, he'll do well in future too.

Pakistan have been the busiest team in the post-pandemic calendar, having played more cricket than any other side. Given the difficulties of bubble life, it's been a remarkable achievement and Misbah heaped praises on the team's mental toughness.

"These are unprecedented times that we're living in. Bio-bubble life is never easy. In earlier times, players used to get a lot of private time on tours, where they could travel or meet people to cool off between games. Now, once you're in a bubble, you have to stay there no matter what. Hats off to the team and management for handling it so well. International cricket is tough as it is and to perform well with these additional baggages is laudable. Commitment of the players and management is really good."

While it's been a largely successful phase for Pakistan, Misbah did admit that there were areas of concern, especially in the limited-overs setup. With two T20 World Cups looming in successive years, he was understandably thoughtful with regards to building a team for those tournaments.

"Our middle order batting in white-ball (especially T20s) cricket lacks experience. Other teams are getting 200-plus scores regularly and so we're trying to up our strike-rate a bit. Unfortunately, the guys we've tried haven't clicked yet. But there are positives too. Our bowling and top-order batting has been really good. Yes there is area for improvement but the fact that we're still winning is a good sign for us"

Misbah also defended the player rotation policies that Pakistan have experimented with in recent months. It was a topic that England's cricket team also faced extreme criticism with earlier this year on their tour of India. The former Pakistan captain though, was strong in his views on this topic.

"We need to understand that these aren't normal times. So we have bigger squads than they would otherwise be. Normally, a Test squad has 16 members while ODIs have 15. So, now that we have a bigger pool, you would see players who might not always get a game this early."

"It's an opportunity to test out new players with an eye for the future. Gives them good exposure. Against tougher series, we may not be able to rotate as much as it's important to fix your core side with the World Cup around the corner."