Mushtaq Muhammad praises "crisis man" Misbah

Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Mushtaq Muhammad has backed Misbah-ul-Haq as skipper and said he had been performing well under crisis which is the first sign of a good team leader.

The former allrounder, who is ranked as one of Pakistan`s top captains, said in an interview that Misbah, despite all the criticism spewed on him, had proven himself to be a man of crisis. "He has done a fine job and he has been performing consistently which is the sign of a good captain," Mushtaq said. In his last 13 international innings, Misbah, 39, has scored ten half centuries with many critics panning him for not being able to build on good starts. But Mushtaq said generally this was a problem with the present team. "When I was captain I was lucky to be blessed with some world class players in the team and that made things easier for me. I was able to take some gambles and luckily for me they worked," Mushtaq said. The former skipper pointed out that one had to give credit to Misbah for doing well with a side that didn`t have the same world class talent and whose players since 2009 had not got an opportunity to play international cricket in Pakistan. "Let`s not forget that Pakistan cricket has been through a lot of upheaval in the last few years because of the attack on the Sri Lankan team and than the spot fixing scandal in England. In these circumstances with the available talent, Misbah has managed well," he said. Mushtaq, who has also coached the national side with considerable success, made it clear that one problem he saw with the present team was lack of personal interest in their own performances. "In our days the players used to focus a lot on their own performances and reputation and everyone fought hard to prove himself and for the team. This quality needs to be developed further in the present side," he stated. PTI