Cricket: Misbah fears losing captaincy, says Mohsin

Coach discloses reason behind batsman’s defensive approach.

Pakistan coach Mohsin Khan has defended captain Misbahul Haq’s defensive approach to leading the team, revealing that the batsman feared losing captaincy as well as his place in the side.

Mohsin, in an interview with Geo Super, said that despite all the success that Pakistan have tasted under Misbah, the 37-year-old felt that even a couple of failures may limit his playing days.

“You have to understand that at his age, he worries about the fact that if he fails in one or two matches, the critics will be after him and he could be dropped,” said Mohsin. “That’s why he, at times, tends to play it safe. But he’s gained confidence as captain and I’ve been telling him to forget about these things and focus on doing what he’s best at: leading the team by example.”

Mohsin also spoke highly of Misbah’s captaincy and said that he has developed an ideal working relationship with him.

“Misbah’s an intelligent and composed captain and communicates well with the players. He has also quickly picked up the confidence to push for victories. In the last Test against Bangladesh, both of us decided on the spur of moment that even if we get 10 overs, we’ll go for victory and not settle for a draw.”

The former opener also hit back at critics who have accused him of being an armchair coach, not being physically active and holding long team meetings to the frustration of the players.

“People need to understand that the job of a coach is to make his players mentally strong and just guide and discuss strategies with them. You can’t teach anything more to people like Misbah or Younus Khan at this stage.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2012.