Abu Dhabi: The Pakistan team were clearly fretting over team combination after their ace spinner Yasir Shah went down with a back spasm while training in the nets ahead of the first Test against England, starting on Tuesday at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium.
Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, speaking in the pre-match briefing, said it is still not clear if Shah will recover in time for the first Test.
“I hope he will be fine. We cannot say anything but we are hoping that he will be okay. Let’s see how it pans out and how he feels tomorrow,” said Misbah, adding that it will be a huge blow to the team’s aspirations if Shah fails to make the team.
“Yeah that could be a big blow for us but we are hoping Shah will be okay tomorrow. Obviously he is a key player for us so we are really concerned about him,” added the 41-year-old.
Pakistan had routed England 3-0 when the two teams met in the last series in 2012 but Misbah was of the view that the visitors will be in a better frame of mind this time round.
“I think they will be more prepared this time; they know what mistakes they did the last time they were here. I think they will be more focused and ready,” said Misbah, who also warned his players about lowering their guard.
“We need to really improve on our performances as we cannot just take it easy because we have beaten them 3-0 earlier. I believe it will not be easy and we have to up our game to beat them.”
Misbah also bestowed faith in Shoaib Malek carrying his ODI form into the Tests, despite coming into the set-up after a gap of five years. “Azhar is our backbone, batting at number three and the kind of performances he was giving in Tests, we will certainly miss him, but that is how it is,” asserted Misbah, adding: “Malek is in good form and he can give us added bowling advantage. Confidence is the key and I feel if you have that you can put up a good show in whatever format you play in. Hopefully, he will come good.”
