New Delhi: A rather reticent Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Friday criticized Australian legend Ian Chappell for his “just stay home” comment, saying it was “uncalled for and unbecoming to someone who has a vast experience of playing and watching cricket.”
Writing for cricket.com.au, Misbah said, “If we apply Chappell’s comments to Australia, does that mean if they continue to get whitewashed on the subcontinent on a regular basis then they should also not travel there?”
Pakistan suffered a series whitewash in the recent three-match Test series Down Under and today, they lost the first game of the of the five-match ODI series by 92 runs at Brisbane.
Soon after the third Test at Sydney, Chappell lampooned Pakistan for their inability to play competitive cricket, and said that Cricket Australia must stop inviting Pakistan unless they improve their performance.
“Pakistan have now lost 12 Test matches on the trot in Australia, and somebody’s got to give them a kick up the bum. Cricket Australia have got to start saying ‘listen if things don’t improve we will stop with the invites’,” the 73-year-old had told ESPN.
Misbah admitted that the series defeat “has been very disappointing” and “a huge setback for” Pakistan. But he dwelled on the fact that if the tours didn’t happen on a regular basis, teams will find it hard to succeed in foreign countries.
“And if Australia does not travel to Asia or the Asian teams do no travel to Australia then how are they going to improve?
“I think there’s been a gap between the teams because we hardly tour,” he reasoned.
The tour is Pakistan’s first in seven years, and he lamented the lack of experience players in the squad.
“If we tour Australia only every seven years (our previous Test tour Down Under was in 2009-10) then how are we going to improve? The next time we will go there, there might be 8-9 new faces and just two or three players that were part of the previous tour,” he added.
Chappell has since received flaks from Pakistanis, with Shoaib Akhtar in particular slamming the former Australian captain.
“Pak lacked grit: Chappell. I agree but not comin 2 Australia no remedy. England never won World Cup but doesn’t mean dey shudn’t participate,” Akhtar tweeted.
Talking about his retirement, which has dominated the tour ever since the whitewash, Misbah said that he will first “analyse how much passion for cricket” has has left in him, then take a decision.
“There have been lot of questions about my retirement but at the moment I have taken a time-out. That’s why I have not made any decision about it. I want to spend some time at home and then play in the PSL. I will then analyse how much passion for cricket I have left in me and whether I can play on. I think when you are playing cricket and enjoying your performances, it gives you an idea if you want to continue or not,” explained.
The 42-year-old Pakistan legend has played 72 Tests, 162 ODIs and 39 T20Is, scoring over 10,000 international runs. He is regarded as one of the most tenacious cricketers around, carrying on with the burden of leading a side which has seen only the decline in recent years.
Source: Zee News