Absence of Misbah, Younis will affect the Test team: Sarfraz Ahmed

Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan will play their last Test match for Pakistan against West Indies in Dominica, which will start from Wednesday.

The strongest candidate to wear the captaincy band after Misbah’s departure, Sarfraz Ahmed thinks that Pakistan Test team will have a difficult time following the duo’s retirement.

“Younis used to bat at No. 4, and Misbah at No. 5, so it will affect our Test team a lot when they’re gone. When we came to the team, we used to learn from the way they conducted themselves, and we’ll miss all of that,” Sarfraz Ahmed told ESPNCricinfo

“We will of course miss both of them deeply. As you can see, they have been the backbone of our Test team for the last six years. Whenever the team had difficulties, Misbah led the team from the front,” he added.

Sarfraz Ahmed, like others, hailed Misbah Ul Haq the captain and told that dressing room’s environment was wonderful under his captaincy.

“The dressing room atmosphere was great under Misbah. I learnt a lot from him and I really like the way he leads. He reads the game in a very calm, composed manner. He is great at understanding how to take the players along with him and get the best out of them,” he said.

The current limited-over skipper praised Younis Khan and said that it has always been fun batting with Younis Khan. “The experience of batting with Younis is amazing. I haven’t had too many partnerships with him, but what is great about him is he rotates the strike very well, and guides you along. He keeps giving good advice and whoever bats with him say they enjoyed it.”

He further told that all youngsters, including him, have learned a lot from the experienced batting pair of Pakistan.

“They give all of us young players advice: me, Azhar, Shan [Masood], Babar [Azam], Ahmed Shehzad. They keep telling us to take care of our fitness,” he added.

He further shared that he used to share ideas behind the stumps with Younis Khan standing in the slip cordon.

“I always stood behind the wicket with Younis Khan in the slip cordon, and we talked about what to do if a batsman wasn’t getting out. What they have taught us, we will do our best to implement,” he added.