Newly appointed Chief selector and head coach of Pakistan Cricket Team Misbah-ul-Haq is not satisfied with unprofessionalism of some players which includes ex captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Sources said the players have purportedly not been training according to the plan devised by Misbah. There has also been a general lacks of professionalism and discipline during training.
ex captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Wahab Riaz and Haris Sohail are among the players that have not been serious about the training session, sources were quoted as saying.
ex captain Sarfaraz Ahmed
MISBAH’S, AS PER THE Various SOURCES, PLAYERS WERE SHYING AWAY FROM FOLLOWING THE MANAGEMENT’S INSTRUCTIONS.
“What has disturbed Misbah the most in his first assignment as head coach and the chief selector is the reluctance of some players to follow directions of the management and do proper training to keep high fitness standards,” one source said.
“He is unhappy that some players are just too relaxed and take training lightly and are not working on improving their cricket discipline. He has also not been encouraged by the attitude of ex captain Sarfaraz Ahmed whom he feels shies away from taking responsibility when the chips are down.”
MISBAH WAS SURPRISED BY THE BEHAVIOR OF THREE SENIOR PLAYERS – WAHAB RIAZ, IMAD WASIM, AND HARIS SOHAIL.
“Several times he felt they were making excuses to shy away from training and proper nets. He got the feeling they had some sort of excuse ready to go easy on their training,” the source said.
“Batsman, Haris Sohail has developed a painful habit of making excuses for having some niggling problem or pain when asked to push himself in training. Another problem which confronts Misbah is that most of the players don’t appear to have the cricket discipline to follow and execute plans on the field which are discussed in the dressing room.”
The source said at one stage Misbah even felt that the decision of former head coach Mickey Arthur to keep left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz out of the team was understandable.
The long-serving former Pakistan captain is also not pleased that some players are also not displaying the required professional standards.
“Two players bluntly informed their team’s head coaches that they would reach for the National T20 Championship matches in Faisalabad on the morning of the games. When Misbah came to know about this he told the head coaches they should be more firm with the players and ensure they joined their provincial team a day before the matches,” source said.
Misbah is also surprised that Arthur and the ex-support staff didn’t pay enough attention to developing proper batsmen in all formats and didn’t look beyond Babar Azam.
“It is not a very happy situation now and one can expect Misbah to take some hard decisions as chief selector while selecting the T20 and Test squads for the coming tour of Australia,” he said.
Zahid Mahmood, a leg-spinner who in the past has been ignored by the selectors and coaches, is now under the consideration of Misbah who is not satisfied with the form of current team leggies, Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan.
Similarly, Misbah is also on the lookout for some new pace bowlers and youngster Naseem Shah is under his scanner for the Australian tour.
Inorder to reduce the pressure on the side and avoid more criticism, Misbah is keen on giving some new faces a chance, during the T20Is against Australia, which could pave the path for players who have performed well during the ongoing National T20 Cup in Faisalabad.
During a meeting with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s Chief Executive, Wasim Khan, Misbah complained about the attitude of players in the side and their reluctance to put in the hard yards for improved fitness levels.