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Abid thanks Misbah, Younis after return to form

The 33-year-old revealed that a fifty in the first Test gave him the confidence to play a bigger knock in the second Test

Abid thanks Misbah, Younis after return to form PHOTO COURTESY: PCB

Pakistan’s opener Abid Ali, while talking at a virtual press conference on Monday, thanked the coaches of the national side Misbahul Haq and Younis Khan for his change in fortunes after scoring a double-ton against Zimbabwe in the second Test.

The 33-year-old revealed that a fifty in the first Test gave him the confidence to play a bigger knock in the second Test.

"A big score was really important for my career. I had been working with the coaches. The first fifty gave me confidence. The next opportunity I received I turned it into a double hundred. Head coach Misbahul Haq had told me to focus on my cricket and play with a cool head. Younis Khan also gave me confidence by telling me that he had scored a double century on the same venue. I decided that I was going to play a big knock as well,” Abid said.

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The opener also thanked former cricketer Mohammad Yousaf for his advice during training sessions conducted in Lahore.

“Mohammad Yousaf, during training at the National High Performance Centre and camps, also gave me a lot of guidance and told me to focus on the basics. Younis Khan told me that I wasnt playing badly and that I was just experiencing a bad patch. He told me that I would come out of this. Misbah also kept insisting that I had the ability to play a big knock. The confidence I have gained from this double ton will aid me in the series against West Indies and in the future as well. It was not easy to make runs on a slow wicket but I waited patiently for the bad balls which helped me score,” he concluded.