F.P. Report
LAHORE :Pakistan cricket team head coach, former Pakistan cricket captain, Misbah ul Haq has said the selectors and team management are on the same page on selection matters, making it clear that he doesn’t want to dwell on tainted T20 opener Sharjeel Khan’s selection in Pak cricket team for the tour of South Africa.
Talking to media virtually here on Thursday, Misbah said: “I had to say this is a Pakistan team because such things appear in the media and an impression is created that there is discord among team management and selectors over selection matters. But I say everything is done collectively,” he said.
“I don’t know why Muhammad Asif or Salman Butt were not selected after completing their bans but what I know is that until there is a law that bars us from selecting a player after he has served any ban we can’t keep anyone out,” he added.
Misbah said Sharjeel has been selected because of his form and he has been told that he has time before the T20 series in South Africa to achieve his fitness. “Sharjeel has to work hard and meet the required fitness standards of the team. He has to reach a certain level where there are no compromises,” the coach said and added: “We will see how he progresses and improves his fitness without damaging his skill levels.”
Chief selector Muhammad Wasim had recently said that the fitness benchmark was being brought down to occupy more skillful players. Misbah said: “We have had a detailed discussion on the fitness issue and we are trying to simplify the process for players by introducing parameters for players on which there will be no compromise.
“But also relate it to performances on the ground by the players. We are giving targets to players depending on their requirements. “We are not reducing the fitness benchmarks of the team. We are trying to relate it to match and ground fitness. It is not that we will reduce the benchmark of Yoyo tests from 18 to 15 marks,” he asserted.
The head coach, whose three-year coaching contract will expire just before the T20 World Cup in India later in the year, made it clear that he doesn’t want to look far ahead and is taking one series at a time, saying the decision to give him an extension lies solely with the PCB. “I always say that one can’t plan so ahead as far as my coaching is concerned. I take it series to series. When the time comes it is time for the PCB to decide what is best for Pakistan cricket,” he said.
Misbah said it would be challenging going and playing the ODI series without any practice games. “We have less time to acclimatize to conditions in South Africa but I am confident that we can produce good results,” he said.
The former captain said that no players, including seniors, have been written off and they will be considered for future selection. “It is all a matter of who is in form. We can consider any player at any time who is in form. No player is written off.” About postponement of the PSL-6, the head coach said that it had allowed players to have a break and the training camp was also short. “We had some concerns that if the PSL had been completed on schedule and we would have left immediately for South Africa remaining in the bio-secure bubble for such a long time,” he said.
