Pak Coach Misbah Urges Critics To Show Patience With Comeback Men Shehzad, Akmal

Critics hit back hard at Misbah and the Pakistan selection think tank for getting back Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal into the T20 team, after they both failed to get going in the first T20 against Sri Lanka.

Pakistan's head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has appealed to the critics to show some patience with recent changes made in the Pakistan cricket team as the same have been done keeping in mind the betterment of the team in the future. The former Pakistan skipper, who is also the chief selector added that it was his duty to support the under-pressure current captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.

"There is no need to press the panic button. I would ask the critics to go easy on the players who fail. When a player makes comeback, he needs time to settle down again and perform," Misbah told the media in Lahore ahead of the second T20 against Sri Lanka on Monday.

Critics hit back hard at Misbah and the Pakistan selection think tank for getting back Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal into the T20 team, after they both failed to get going in the first T20 against Sri Lanka. Shehzad back in the T20 team after over a year failed to make an impact as he got out for four runs while Umar playing in this format for the national team for the first time since late 2016, was out for a first-ball duck as a second-string Sri Lankan side upset Pakistan. The head coach said that all experiments are being done keeping the next year's World T20 in mind. "I think when you experiment keeping in mind next year's World T20 in Australia, one has to be patient with the recalled players and allow them to perform in order to get positive results. Results will not always go your way but we have to be patient. I am confident that we can come back in the series strongly," the former Test captain said. He defended the selection of Akmal in the T20 squad pointing out he was picked on basis of his past performances for the national team. Misbah also noted that T20 was one format in which any team could win on its day. The head coach said he was experimenting to build up a strong bench strength for next year's World T20 Cup. Pakistan were outclassed in the first T20 suffering a record heavy defeat by 64 runs as they were bowled out for 101 runs in 17.4 overs.