Misbah opens up on importance of SA T20I series win

Pakistan’s head coach Misbahul Haq, while talking at a virtual press conference on Sunday, opened up on the importance of the recently concluded Twenty20 International (T20I) series victory against South Africa at home claiming that it was vital for the morale of the national side.

The Men in Green won the recently concluded three-match T20I series against South Africa two-one and Misbah believed it was an encouraging sign for things to come in the future.

"This series win was quite important for the team's morale. This squad was full of youngsters, in a home series. We had lost the previous series, so I think this was a much-needed win. Both for the team's confidence and for that of the youngsters who made up this team. We've beaten a strong South Africa team, so that's a good sign. Especially the performances the boys put in are very encouraging signs," Misbah said.

"See, whoever got the chance and even those who didn't get the chance still have PSL to stake their claim. So even when the rested seniors return, we'll be looking at a very good pool to pick from. We'll have a good choice to pick the in-form players, those who've shown match-winning performances. We'll have the seniors available and obviously this bunch as well. So it's a very good sign that we'll have a very healthy pool and we can build a quality side from that,” he said.

The head coach believed that there was ample time left for the Men in Green to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"Look, there's a lot of matches left. Why are we worrying already? The World Cup isn't tomorrow, and we've got 20 odd matches (sic) to go before that. This is a good thing that we've been playing out games like this, like today's - the testing matches which help build the team's temperament and fighting spirit. And we were missing key players here, and this format is such that even these minute changes end up making a difference. So I think when you have a full-strength side available, it makes a lot of difference,” he said.

"We'll definitely get some head-turning performances in PSL too. So I feel we'll be in a very good position after this PSL heading into the T20 World Cup,” he concluded.