‘Tests will be different ball game’

KHULNA, Bangladesh: Under pressure after flopping in the limited-overs series, Pakistan are hoping that Misbah-ul-Haq will help end their losing spree in the two-Test series that begins here on Tuesday (today).
This situation puts extra pressure on the 40-year-old captain but if Misbah is concerned by it he is hiding it well
“It’s the part of life and you have to play in pressure, which is the reason you are surviving at such a level. You don’t have to look behind as what has happened in the past but think positive and take everything positively,” he said.
“There is always a pressure in international cricket and obviously the opposition is playing good and you have to be at your best. We are aware about them and we have to respect the opposition as they are good at their home condition and are coming with the high confidence since World Cup.”
Misbah was bombarded with questions about the ODI and T20 series loss. Usually one to tackle the media with ease, Misbah seemed to be irked by the barrage of questions from journalists.
He did not want to be reminded of the past, and kept reiterating the importance of a fresh start. He was busy convincing everyone that Pakistan in whites were a completely different prospect.
“Our Test side is quite experienced with this combination and has been consistently performing well for quite a long time now,” he said. “It’s a different ball game and these players have a better understanding of Test cricket and everybody is in good shape and in the best of his form. Also, the condition here is similar to Abu Dhabi and Dubai and we are hoping to carry on the form we have in the format.
“Apart from all the confidence Bangladesh have, we have to our focus on our strengths, concentrate at our basics which is the factor for success we’ve had in this particular format for many years. It’s important for us to break the confidence of the Bangladesh team and for this we have to play our best cricket.”
Pakistan were struck by quite a few injuries during the Bangladesh series but for the Tests, their attack seems a lot more settled - Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Imran Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah. Misbah felt that the spinners would have a crucial role to play in Khulna, and that perhaps three fast bowlers were not required.
Ajmal, who has been far less effective after his remodeled bowling action, could be left out for the first Test, but both Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar were seen making the most of the time during training.
“Obviously everybody knows he (Ajmal) is back after a long time and definitely he needs some time to adjust,” Misbah said. “He has only played three games after remodeling his action so he is definitely going to take little bit of time. He actually needs time to adjust with his new action and he’s definitely is going to improve,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim is looking forward to the challenge of playing Pakistan in Tests.
“I will try to continue how we played in the ODIs and T20 but Test cricket isn’t going to be easy. They are the No 4 team in the world, so it becomes a different challenge for us. They have included some experienced players. So it is not pressure, but expectation. I think that works for our players because it brings the best out of them. They are confident and ready for hard work.
Mushfiqur doesn’t want to go into the Test series with a draw in mind, and took a dig at critics who he said complain about the opposition when Bangladesh does well.
“Nobody plays Test cricket to draw or lose. We hadn’t won in 16 years against Pakistan. A lot of people would say that their team wasn’t that good. Those of us who played in the middle exactly know how hard it was to score runs. It is quite natural that when we score runs, everyone says it is an easy attack and when we don’t, they say we can’t score runs against a weak attack.”