Misbah-ul-Haq says Pakistan have almost finalized T20 World Cup team despite series loss to England
Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has stated that his team combination for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 is almost finalized.
Speaking to media in a virtual press conference ahead of the series against the West Indies, Misbah-ul-Haq asserted that despite the series defeat in England, the team management has a clear idea of the Men in Green's combination for the mega-event in the Middle East.
“We know eight or nine players of our playing XI, along with their replacements. Results have not gone our way but we have an idea about our team combination [for the T20 World Cup],” Misbah-ul-Haq said.
Pakistan recently played a 3-match T20I series against the England cricket team. Although Babar Azam's men defeated the home side in the series opener at Trent Bridge, they could not win the series. England won the next two fixtures and secured the series by a scoreline of 2-1.
The likes of Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Sohaib Maqsood and Haris Rauf could not impress much. Even debutant Azam Khan could not live up to expectations.
We can’t judge Azam Khan right now: Misbah-ul-Haq
Azam Khan had an opportunity to become a hero for Pakistan in the second T20I against England. He came out to bat when the team's score was 93/4 after 12.1 overs in a chase of 201 runs. However, Khan could not trouble the English bowlers much. He lost his wicket to Matt Parkinson after scoring one run off four balls.
Misbah-ul-Haq believed it would be wrong to judge Azam on the basis of one failure because he was under pressure. He expected Azam to produce a better performance against the West Indies team.
“We can’t judge him [Azam Khan] right now because he has only played one proper innings especially when you have a required rate of 12-14 runs per over. A player at that position has to go out and score quick runs straightaway. We still have this [West Indies] series so let’s see how he goes,” Misbah-ul-Haq added.