LAHORE-Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has said that his full focus is onthe South Africa series and he wants to see improvement in the nationalteam’s performances.
Talking to the reporters on Sunday, Misbah said: “I am not satisfied withthe performances and I want to see an improvement in the national side. Myfull focus is on South Africa series and on our performances. We’ll try toimprove our shortcomings and remove the mistakes we have been making.
The former captain said: “South Africa had a good amount of strength inthe past. They had decent spinners and then batsmen who could play againsta spin attack well but this is slightly a different South African side andwe look forward to improve our record against them. We will try to exploittheir weaknesses. This is the time for us to play good cricket againstthem.
“The home team always has the edge due to home conditions; we also have anedge because our players have been playing domestic cricket here inKarachi. So, they know how things are going to be. So, we have a goodopportunity against South Africa to do well and win the series,” the46-year-old added.
Misbah dismissed the idea that results of Pakistan’s series against NewZealand will have any impact on team’s preparation for the upcoming series.“We played in different conditions there. Our strategy here will bedifferent from what it was in New Zealand. We will plan looking atconditions and requirements of playing in Pakistan,” he said.
When asked about his performance as the team’s coach, he agreed that he isnot fully satisfied with the performance and added that he is not worriedabout what is being said about his future. “We have always played ourcricket under pressure; it doesn’t matter what people have been saying andthere is no guarantee and no surety. What is important is how you respondto the job in hand,” he said.
“Pressure is always there on anyone, be it a coach or player, but you’vegot to deal with it. The results are not in your control, so you don’tthink much about it. What is in your control is your strategy andexecution. So, you’ll have to be perfect in those areas. “The presence ofSaqlain Mushtaq and Mohammad Yousuf is beneficial for the players and theteam’s overall strength.” He brushed aside the suggestion that having toomany coaches on the field might create problems for players,” he added.Backing Babar Azam as national team captain, the head coach said theskipper should be empowered and have freedom to execute his plans. “Babaris an intelligent cricketer and we are giving him a free hand as captain sohe may make his own decisions on the field and how to take the teamforward. Hopefully this is how he will learn and improve his captaincy.”