Too much on Misbah's plate: Former chief selector Mohsin Khan

Karachi, September 1

A win-less England tour thus far has put Misbah-ul-Haq under pressure and the PCB may have to rethink its strategy of entrusting the former captain with the key positions of head coach and chief selector for all three formats.

Pakistan lost the Test series 0-1 and go into the series-deciding third T20 on Tuesday, trailing 0-1. The first match could not be completed due to rain while Pakistan lost high-scoring second T20 by five wickets to England.

“The third and final T20 is of great significance as already the popular opinion is building that Misbah is not able to handle the responsibilities of being head coach and chief selector and that too in all three formats,” said Mohsin Khan, former Test cricketer, ex-head coach and chief selector.

Pakistan under Misbah since last October has only managed to win two matches against an under strength Bangladesh side this year while losing three-nil to Sri Lanka, 2-0 to Australia and now getting battered in England.

Mohsin, who was head coach when Misbah captained Pakistan to a whitewash of England in the Test series in 2012, felt that it was not a good sign that popular opinion was not in favour of the current chief selector.

“I was chief selector when the board asked me to take over as interim head coach in 2011 the first thing I did was to tell the Chairman Ijaz Butt to release me as chief selector as I can’t do both things,” Mohsin recalled.

The former Test opener said that in modern day cricket it was taxing for any individual to be answerable on two important fronts.

A reliable source said that PCB CEO Wasim Khan would have a discussion with Misbah and the other coaches when the team returns home later this week.

“The fact that 2021, 22 and 23 are World Cup years is also not lost on the board,” he said.

Former Test pacer Tanvir Ahmed lashed out at the Pakistan team management for having no clue as to what teams to play in different formats.

“The selections are all wrong and to add to problems the captaincy on the field has also been very poor in the Tests and now in T20 matches,” he said. PTI