‘Pak youngsters should see Misbah as their role model’

KARACHI: Young Pakistani cricketers should see Misbah-ul-Haq as their role model, says former Test cricketer Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu.

Sallus told ‘The News’ in an interview on Friday that Misbah’s fitness, form and determination make him a beacon of light for young cricketers in the country.

“The way Misbah is scoring runs at the age of 42 shows how fit and determined he is. It isn’t easy to score a century at Lord’s but Misbah did it in an effortless manner.

“I believe that our cricketers should see Misbah as their role model and try to follow in his footsteps.”

Misbah scored 114 on his Lord’s debut, helping Pakistan post a sizeable 339 in the first innings of their opening Test at Lord’s on Friday.

Sallu, also a former chief selector, said that Misbah’s partnership with Asad Shafiq was the main reason why Pakistan managed to reach 339 in their first innings.

“I believe that Pakistan should have reached 450 had other top batters like Younis Khan, Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed had also played bigger knocks.”

Sallu is of the view that pressure will be on England if Pakistan managed to take a first innings lead.

“Pakistan should take a lead and then bat well in the second innings. They will be in a good position as England will have to bat last on a wicket that is likely to assist Yasir Shah a lot on the final day.”