Misbah-ul-Haq: “Spin bowling was the major issue, it was out of form and you had to figure out ways to sort it. Shadab and Nawaz’s performances weren’t convincing even in [the] Asia Cup”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq pointed out that spinners Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz haven’t been convincing at all as they have been out of form for months.
The duo failed to impress in the Asia Cup and their subpar performances continued in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Shadab finished with two wickets in six matches at an average of 118.50 and an economy rate of 6.23, while Nawaz claimed two wickets in five games at an average of 111.50 and an economy rate of 5.89.
“Spin bowling was the major issue, it was out of form and you had to figure out ways to sort it. Shadab and Nawaz’s performances weren’t convincing even in [the] Asia Cup,” Misbah was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan began their campaign with successive wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four in a row to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to defeat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they were unable to make it to the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, the men in green lost their last group stage match against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan will now face Australia in a three-match Test series against Australia, but neither Shadab nor Nawaz were included in the 18-man squad.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will begin on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi