Amir was dropped due to performance, injuries but door is still open: Misbah

LAHORE, Pakistan cricket team head coach Misbah ul Haq has clarified that he has no personal problems with pace bowler Muhammad Amir, who was dropped due to performance and injuries but the door is still open for him to make a come back.

Talking to the reporters during a press conference here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, the former Pakistan cricket captain said: “I have said before that Muhammad Amir was dropped from the side due to his performance and injuries.

He then decided to retire but if he does take back his decision of retirement and his performance is good, I have always said that doors are open for every player to make a comeback; I have no personal issues against him.

“I was captain when he came back into International cricket, and he also played under me as head coach. If you recall, he had family issues and he could not go to England with the side but we did call him to England later, so there aren’t any big issues and I don’t know why Amir feels that – but the fact is that if he performs well and is available for the team then I have no objections,” he added.

Terming the series against England and West Indies ‘very beneficial’ ahead of the T20 World Cup, the head coach said: “It’s our belief that the better teams you play against, such as England and West Indies, the better you become at judging at where we stand. So this is a positive thing and a good opportunity that we are preparing so well for the T20 World Cup.

“We will use these two series to try and overcome any problems we have. After tour of New Zealand and in tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe, our fielding has really improved and we have taken good catches also,” he asserted.

To a query regarding upcoming pacers, Misbah replied: “Shahnawaz Dhani was on the last tour with us, and the passion and attitude with which he bowls, it’s a great thing for Pakistan that we are getting such sorts of bowlers coming up.

Haris Rauf has been doing well for us in the past 2-3 series and if his form in PSL is a bit up and down, it doesn’t matter as these things can happen to anyone and hopefully, he will be back to his good form again.”

Replying to another query, the former Pakistan captain said: “Whether it is Haris Sohail, Saud Shakeel or Abdullah Shafiq – they need to be properly prepared here ahead of the series so we have played some four practice scenario games here so that their confidence level can come back.

They will also get some practice matches when on tour and all three are looking in good shape. Because we are playing ODIs first, this will give time for us to prepare all out of form T20I players for the task ahead.

“At number five and six positions, we have given chances to almost all available batsmen in Pakistan but none of them have been able to perform in a satisfactory manner. Given that we need someone who can score around 150-160, we have picked up Azam Khan.

At this position, we cannot expect the player to hit 50-60 in every game. Instead, if he can win two games from five at this position – so we pick players on that ability and Asif, Haider, Khushdil have all been tried for that reason.

When asked about future of Sharjeel, Umar Akmal and Ahsan, Misbah said: “Players like Sharjeel Khan and before him Umar Akmal or Ahsan Ali – all of them were given fitness targets and that is condition for their selection.

So Azam is improving day by day and is meeting targets given to him and we are trying to get him to the same fitness level as the rest of the team has attained.”