Misbah urges Bangladesh to tour Pakistan

Pakistan’s head coach-cum-chief selector Misbahul Haq, in a press conference at the National Stadium in Karachi on Sunday, urged Bangladesh to tour Pakistan for their scheduled Test series.

Misbah believed that citing security concerns was just an excuse because other teams are now coming to Pakistan as well.

"It will be a huge disappointment for us if Bangladesh don't come to Pakistan; There is no excuse to not come to Pakistan and the security issue seems to be just an excuse in my view," said Misbah. "You are having international tours happening in Pakistan, other teams are coming; You [Bangladesh] are coming for T20Is but refusing to come for Tests seems to be just an excuse as I cannot see any other reason for this."

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The 45-year-old claimed that the cancellation of the tour would be unfair for the Men in Green who need consistent Test cricket in order to thrive in the format.

"To me this is extremely unfair to Pakistan as its already a case that we play less Test cricket and if this series doesn’t happen, and we play Tests in England after such a long period then we cannot blame our players [for bad performances]," he said.

Misbah expressed his relief after Pakistan came back strongly in the second innings of the second Test match in Karachi after a woeful display in the first innings.

"In the past we have had problems when we have come under pressure in cases where we had conceded a first innings lead but then to perform like this means that confidence levels for the team have increased, and for me obviously the way we have made a comeback in this match is a source of relief," he said.

The head coach-cum-chief selector was hopeful for a return to form for the struggling leg-spinner Yasir Shah while heaping praise at the young duo of fast-bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah.

"In the spin bowling area, we are hoping that Yasir Shah will comeback into form. These young bowlers did not have so much first class experience, but we banked on Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi at the international level which was a tough ask for them, and they responded well," he said. "Especially Naseem Shah's bowling today, clearly shows to everyone that he is a star in the making."

Misbah claimed that middle-order batsman Fawad Alam would get an opportunity in the near future and praised the skipper Azhar Ali for his hundred in the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka.

"As regards to Fawad, the idea is to make sure we don’t play him for just the sake of it, hopefully he will get a chance [later]," he said. "Azhar Ali played in a way that was needed by the team and scored runs as well - so he scored a hundred and also helped the team. You need mental strength and this is why he has scored valuable runs around the world."