Pakistan must not bother with who's coming and instead focus on giving their best: Miandad
'We must not bother of which players would travel to Pakistan and instead focus on playing at our best in the series.'
Batting legend Javed Miandad on Wednesday advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Men in green to focus on giving the best in the series against Sri Lanka this month.
The Sri Lankan team will be touring Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20i's in September and October.
Karachi's National Stadium will host the ODI series beginning September 27, while the three T20i's would be played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, starting October 5.
According to reports, 10 Sri Lankan players, including T20 skipper Lasith Malinga, former captain Angelo Mathews, along with Dinesh Chandimal, Suranga Lakmal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Thisara Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Perera and Niroshan Dickwella, have opted out of the tour.
Miandad advised that "we [Pakistan] must not bother with which players would travel to Pakistan and instead focus on playing at our best in the series."
“If the players have opted out of the tour to play other foreign leagues, then SLC must take notice of the matter, as a player’s first priority should be playing for his own country,” he stated.
Miandad —who played for Pakistan in Tests and ODIs between 1975 and 1996 — said Pakistani players need to be consistent in their performances.
“The series against Sri Lanka was a good chance for Pakistan team to win and make a good start at home,” he said.
The legendary batsman added that our players need to build up longer innings focusing on 200 runs after a 100.
“A player’s gets out after a 100 because he never thinks of getting another 100,” he said adding thinking big would improve the batsmen mentality and innings.
He further added that "PCB must focus on improving school cricket to get a good chunk of players from the grass-roots level."
“A player when comes in the team is mature and cannot learn the way a grooming youngster can,” he said.
He also stated that "PCB must hire the services of former cricket greats at district level to hunt and train the upcoming players."
“I used to teach techniques to Inzamam ul Haq and other players when I was attached with the team.”
To a question on India influencing politics in sports, he said "Indian politicians had been politicizing everything just for personal gains."
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