Pakistan vs Sri Lanka: Coach Misbah-ul-Haq says they need to patient with comeback men Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal

Karachi: Pakistan’s head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has urged the critics to show some patience with changes and experiments being done as it takes some time to yield results. The former Pakistan skipper, who is also the chief selector also said that it is his duty to support the under-pressure current captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. [caption id=“attachment_3021558” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Misbah-ul-Haq. AFP[/caption] “There is no need to press the panic button. I would ask the critics to go easy on the players who fail. When a player makes comeback, he needs time to settle down again and perform,” Misbah told the media in Lahore ahead of the second T20 international against Sri Lanka on Monday. Critics were harsh on comeback men Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal, who failed to get going in the first T20 international against Sri Lanka. Shehzad back in the T20 team after over a year made just four runs while Umar playing in this format for the national team for the first time since late 2016, was out for a first-ball duck as a second-string Sri Lankan side upset Pakistan. The head coach said that all experiments are being done keeping the next year’s T20 World Cup in mind. “I think when you experiment keeping in mind next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, one has to be patient with the recalled players and allow them to perform in order to get positive results. Results will not always go your way but we have to be patient. I am confident that we can comeback in the series strongly,” the former Test captain said. He defended the selection of Akmal in the T20 squad pointing out he was picked on basis of his past performances for the national team. Misbah also noted that T20 was one format in which any team could win on its day. The head coach said he was experimenting to build up a strong bench strength for next year’s T20 World Cup. Pakistan were outclassed in the first T20 suffering a record heavy defeat by 64 runs as they were bowled out for 101 runs in 17.4 overs. Pakistan made six changes to their T20 team, which played against England at Cardiff in their last T20 engagement prior to the 50-over World Cup. While pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Imam-ul-Haq are recovering from illness and injuries, Misbah decided to rest Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail against Sri Lanka. Senior pros Shoaib Malik and Muhammad Hafeez are not available for the series as they are playing in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League in the West Indies.