Pakistan deserves to be ranked No.1: Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakistan Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq believes that his team deserves to be ranked No.1 ranked Test team in the ICC rankings. They beat England in the 4th Test to level the series 2-2 and with that have a great chance of toppling Australia from the top spot who are in a spot of bother having conceded the ongoing series to Sri Lanka.

“This team deserves that (going to number one) for six years of no cricket at home, sometimes people think it’s easy – the UAE suits us, we win – but just living every day away from your country, without your family and friends, and playing every game away from Pakistan, is really difficult. It’s mentally tough,” Misbah said in the post-match press conference on Sunday.

He said that the Pakistan cricketers are missing their family and friends as they are even playing their home series in the UAE. “I can only see my mother once a year. I only see my sister once a year. Some of my friends, I could not see for three or four years because of these commitments. We are out of the country all the time. There are a lot of tours and even our home series are in the UAE. We go from West Indies to New Zealand to Australia. It’s not easy. But still the team is winning. Still the team is playing competitive cricket.”

He feels that their performance in the series also showcased their ability to do well in overseas conditions. “There were lots of questions before we came here about whether we could only play in Asian conditions, but we have shown that we are good enough to play even in these conditions. At one stage we were winning this series. I’m really proud of this team and I think that, if we can be No. 1 after all these results, then we really deserve that,” the Pakistan skipper said.

After two losses at Manchester and at Birmingham, Pakistan came back strong to square the series with a win at The Oval.

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“I am happy with the character shown by the Pakistan team. After two defeats, they fought back in this game and won. This is pleasing for me. This team has character and stood up the occasion, fought hard and levelled the series. Winning this match means a lot,” he said.

“The important point is that you should keep believing as a team and individuals. These players have been playing for six years and they have performed in difficult situations. Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali and Younis Khan have played winning knocks under pressure and our bowling always stands out. We knew that, when the batsmen found form and we were able to combine our performances with the bat and the ball, we could do well. We had belief throughout the series,” Misbah concluded.