Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq Wednesday said focus is the key for him and his team as they try to avert distraction caused by a court verdict against three former team-mates in a corruption case. Although Misbah shied away from commenting on the verdict which found former Test captain Salman Butt and paceman Mohammad Asif guilty of conspiracy to cheat and accepting corrupt payments, he discussed Pakistan's progress in the wake of the scandal.
"The key for us is to control what we can control - the effort we are putting in and we are only focusing on that," said Misbah when asked about the difficulties of leading Pakistan in the post spot-fixing scandal. "We have a good bunch of boys and everybody is doing the work and everyone is focusing on the own performance and the team's performance. The team is doing well and everybody is performing and we don't think about anything else," said Misbah.
Since replacing Butt after the England tour last year, Misbah has led the team - on and off the field - admirably well as they have not lost a Test series against opponents like South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies. Misbah said players communicated well to avoid problems.
"There's been good communication with players. There's a good spirit. We know each other well and that's the key," said Misbah, who was made captain for all three formats of the game in September after Shahid Afridi was sacked. The 37-year-old Misbah was sidelined for three years between 2003-2007 after making his debut in 2002 and was again out of favour for the England tour, marred by the spot-fixing scandal.
But that did not diminish his passion for playing, and he returned as Test captain for the South Africa series in UAE last year. Misbah said he was lucky to have a bunch of wise players. "The guys are really good and they focus well and that's the key for us and that makes my job easier," said Misbah. "Everybody is doing hard work and everybody is responding well and that's helping me as captain and there's no problem whatsoever.
"The way the team is going it can be seen and the good results are there. Everybody realises his responsibility and working very hard. One major thing is that the more you play with experience you get better and the team gets better." Misbah said his relationship with players is also excellent.
"There's a good relationship between players and the management and the captain. Everyone is relaxing and there's no tension in the team," said Misbah, one of five captains Pakistan had in the last three years. But even the frequent changes in Pakistan captaincy doesn't bother Misbah, as he sets his goal to restore Pakistan's image in international cricket. "Country's name come first, people come and go, every player needs to remember that."
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