Misbah-ul-Haq opens up about claims regarding Asif Ali’s unjustified selection

Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has rejected claims that he prefers having middle-order batsman Asif Ali in the playing XI.

The right-hander’s poor run in international cricket continued during the recently concluded tour of South Africa where he once again failed to leave a mark with the bat in hand.

After failure on yet another tour, some former cricketers and journalists in the mainstream media as well on the social media accused Misbah of favouritism in the case of Islamabad United’s middle-order batsman.

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However, while talking to the media in a virtual press conference on Tuesday, the 46-year-old reiterated that Asif is just a ‘player’ for him. 

“Asif Ali is just a player for me,” he said. “Selectors picked him in the squad on the basis of his performances, I didn’t. I support all the players in the squad regardless of their performances. But it seems that in the media, my name is only associated with players who are not performing well. Nobody mentions the players who are doing well.”