Here's how Misbah led Islamabad United to victory in PSL final

Dean Jones heaps praise on Pakistan Test captain, saying he knows cricket inside out

Locker room speeches have been known to spur teams across the globe to victory, and that is exactly what Islamabad United captain Misbahul Haq did for his team during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final.

The PSL champions’ coach Dean Jones recently recalled the Pakistan Test captain’s special contribution to the team’s eight-wicket victory against Quetta Gladiators.

“In the PSL final, the opposition scored 174 and we had a large dressing room and I hate large dressing rooms because guys can hide in corners when things are not going well. I felt we had negativity in the group when needing 175 to win. I said to Misbah that you have to say something to them,” recalled Jones. “He had a blend of West Indians, Pakistanis and Australians in there; we were chasing a high total on a pitch that wasn't easy and the way he spoke with passion and with this amazing vigour in Urdu and English just raised the hopes and aspirations of the team.”

The coach went on to say that Misbah is a special human being. “By the time he had finished his three or four minute blast to the boys about what he thought of them, whilst reinforcing the team's values and what we had trained for, it was just brilliant. We ended up getting the runs easily and I looked at Misbah and said, ‘you are special, you are a very special human being’ and that's what I genuinely think of him.”

While praising the 42-year-old, he said, “Misbah knows the game inside out. He knows the players' attitudes and how they react when under pressure which is a very important thing. At times, he can get a little bit negative but I understand that due to the way things sometimes go in Pakistan cricket. How good a captain he is can be judged by this.”

Jones went on to term PSL a successful event which gave a tough time to the simultaneously running Masters Champions League (MCL).

“It was very well put together,” he said. “I was quite impressed with how the event ran. It was competing in the market space available and competing with the MCL which ended up struggling; the PSL on the other hand, went bigger and better. The standard of cricket was great; the attitude of the players from all teams was superb.”

Jones also shed light on the experience of working with Pakistan bowling legend Wasim Akram for Islamabad United and the latter’s reluctance to coach Pakistan’s national team.

“If Wasim Akram wanted to coach Pakistan, I think he could do it without a problem,” said Jones. “He would be a brilliant choice. Whether he has the time to do it is the problem. It's a very tough gig and you really have to commit yourself 100% to the job 24 hours a day and seven days a week. He was brilliant at the PSL as mentor for Islamabad.”

Jones then recalled an incident to back his claim: “There was a time when some of our bowlers like Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Sami were lacking in a bit of confidence and Wasim gave them 15 minutes each which I watched. He worked on their confidence and technique and 15 minutes later, both Irfan and Sami were hitting targets, walking around as if they were 10 feet tall and they had completely changed their momentum after those instructions from Wasim. I was in awe of Wasim and how quickly he got the bowlers going again. He's one of the greatest cricketers that have ever lived and the current crop of Pakistani cricketers look up to him massively.”

Earlier, Jones had applied for the Pakistan head coach position and lost the race to Mickey Arthur.  When asked if the South African could change the men in green’s fortune, he said: “Look, England and Australia have excellent records at home in Test series since the 1990s so don't expect miracles.”

While commenting on the upcoming tour of Pakistan to England, Jones said the Alastair Cook-led side will not be sleeping as comfortably as they did during the series against Sri Lanka.

“Don't worry, the Pakistani bowlers will rattle the England batsmen if they get the ball in the right areas and find their defensive lines and lengths and let the ball do its work,” he said. “I think the Pakistani bowlers will do very well but they need the support of the slip fielders. It's the defensive skills of the Pakistanis that are a concern, the offensive skills should be fine.”

Jones said Pakistan will be relying heavily on veterans Younus Khan and Misbah. “The Pakistani batsmen will need to play the ball late and will be relying heavily on Younus and Misbah to get the runs and it could be a very interesting series if one of the veterans for Pakistan has a good series with the bat. The English batsmen will not be sleeping as well at the moment as they were when they were facing the Sri Lankan bowlers.”


Dean Jones was interviewed by PakPassion