Dubai: Misbah-ul Haq missed a big chance to retire at the height of his glory, remarked former Pakistan Test star-turned-coach Ejaz Ahmad.
Speaking to Gulf News, Ahmad who is in Dubai as the head coach of upcoming Masters Cricket League (MCL) Academy, said: “Misbah should have retired after Pakistan was placed at the top of Test world ranking. Like Imran Khan who retired after winning the World Cup, Misbah too should have done it after lifting Pakistan to the greatest height in Test cricket. However, his contribution for Pakistan has been immense and [he] would be remembered for it.”
Ahmad feels that Azhar Ali should now take over the Pakistan Test team captaincy. “Azhar has the experience, scored double and even triple centuries in Test matches. He is the best choice at the moment to be given the captaincy as he has lots of experience too.”
Ahmad is delighted that Pakistan had ended the 12-year-drought of beating Australia in Australia in a One-day match. “It is a huge morale booster to break that barrier and hopefully it will help Pakistan in the future too. This is the best opportunity to beat Australia too as they are not the same strong team like in the past,” said Ahmad, who was the most successful among Pakistan batsmen to score centuries in Australia. He had hit six centuries against the formidable Australia through Test and One-day Internationals.
When asked about the prerequisite to be successful against Australian bowlers, Ahmad, who has 10 centuries in Tests and 12 in One-day Internationals, said: “Most of the Subcontinent batsmen refuse to leave the ball outside the off stump and attempt to drive. This results in most of the batsmen being caught in the slips. During my knocks, if Glenn McGrath bowled 100 balls outside the off stump I made sure to leave all of them. I used to wait and play my cut shots and get the runs.”
Ahmad also feels that responsibility has brought the best out of Mohammad Hafeez. “It is good to find Hafeez among the runs after getting the captaincy. He is an experienced player and nothing is better than experience in leading a One-day team.”
Ahmad believes there is lot of talent in Pakistan, but they need to be brought to the fore. “We now have Mudassar Nazar as the National Cricket Academy Director who is very keen for the development of the game. Pakistan’s domestic cricket has not been strong and that is why unlike in the past the number of talented players that used to emerge in large numbers has dwindled. Nazar’s efforts may help to unearth talent. The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is playing a vital role too in spotting fresh talent,” said Ahmad, who is the adviser to the Lahore Qalandars PSL team.
“The trial matches we held in the presence of Aqib Javed (former UAE coach), who is the director of Lahore Qalandars, and Mudassar Nazar. The turnout was overwhelming. Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi too held trials to spot talent and all these will now bring out good talent to be groomed for the future,” said Ahmad.
