PCB backs Misbah-ul-Haq despite PSL failure with Islamabad United
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) backed national head coach and chief selector, Misbah-ul-Haq for the abysmal outing in the fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The Board had granted him special permission to coach two-time PSL winner Islamabad United. However, the team failed to even qualify for the last four, managing only seven points from 10 matches.
Despite the underperformance, PCB CEO Wasim Khan backed the former Pakistan captain, stating that steady progress had been achieved under Misbah-ul-Haq with the national team. Speaking to the media, he said that Misbah-ul-Haq's poor outing in PSL wouldn't affect his credibility as a coach for the national team.
"Since he took over as head coach we have seen steady progress in the national team’s performances in Tests and T20 cricket... We have full confidence in Misbah even now but as is our policy we will sit down and review his one-year performance after the World T20 in Australia in October. We will do a complete postmortem of his one-year progress and then reach a conclusion.”
Khan stated that the reason for handling the coaching responsibility to him in PSL was a result of the immense confidence that the Board had invested in Misbah-ul-Haq. The former captain was appointed as the national head coach cum chief selector in September 2019, after PCB released Mickey Arthur and his entire support staff post a disastrous CWC 2019 campaign.
“We have confidence in him and that is we allowed him to coach the Islamabad franchise as we wanted him to gain some experience as well in this position. You must keep in mind while he is the coach of the Pakistan team full-time he only joined the Islamabad franchise a few days before the PSL. We wanted it to be a learning experience for him as head coach."
Khan explained that PCB will continue to back Misbah-ul-Haq in their 2020 journey which includes the tour of Ireland, Holland, England, the Asia Cup and the World T20 in Australia.
“It is up to him what his planning is for the team but definitely I am sure he and the other selectors would take into consideration performance of players in the PSL when they sit down to finalise teams for the Asia Cup and World T20.”