Misbah-ul-Haq warns England of Yasir threat

Abu Dhabi - Misbah warned Alastair Cook's team that his talented spinner posed a 'threat to every team'. But the veteran player also admitted that his own batsmen must also be on top of their game against England's quality bowling attack.

Yasir Shah may have played only 10 Test matches so far, but the 29-year-old Pakistan leg-spinner has the skills to hurt England in the forthcoming three-Test series in the UAE, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Thursday.
Misbah warned Alastair Cook's team that his talented spinner posed a 'threat to every team'. But the veteran player also admitted that his own batsmen must also be on top of their game against England's quality bowling attack.
The Pakistanis would be pinning their hopes on the form of Shah and slow left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar. The due would be hoping to match the exploits of Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman who shared 43 wickets in a 3-0 rout of England in 2012 in the UAE. Misbah is confident that Shah is ready to follow in the footsteps of Ajmal who was left out by the selectors due to his unimpressive domestic form after he was forced to change his bowling action by the ICC.
"The way he (Yasir) is bowling he's a threat to every team," Misbah told reporters on Thursday.
"Obviously England know that and he too is aware of it. But it's not just him but all our bowlers have to play their roles and the batsmen must score consistently well."
Shah has been leading Pakistan's spin attack in Ajmal's absence, taking 24 wickets in Pakistan's last series in Sri Lanka and climbing to number three in the Test rankings.
While Misbah was all praise for his spinner, he also showed full faith in his fast bowlers.
"Yasir has been outstanding in recent times and so has been Babar. But it's not just them but we expect the fast bowling department also to play their roles by taking wickets with the new ball, especially in Abu Dhabi," added the skipper, 41.
The Pakistan captain also urged his batsmen to be on top of their game against England's two quality spinners - Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. "Ali has been bowling really well, and he has done well against a team like India, that says a lot of his bowling strength," said Misbah of Ali, who took 19 wickets in England's 3-1 home win against India last year.
"Again it's not just the two spinners we have to respect but the others too. We need to deal with their seamers as well. They have some quality fast bowling."
England's fast-bowling unit looks much stronger on paper than Pakistan's. Stuart Broad and James Anderson have been seasoned performers with the new ball while Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan of Pakistan lack experience at Test level - even though their talent is never is doubt.
The returning Shoaib Malik, according to Misbah, is only going to help the team. The former Pakistan captain returns to the Test side after a gap of five years.
"He's playing really well and is in good form. He is here for his bowling as well because Hafeez was doing that for us. Shoaib will be very useful for us because England have four to five left-handers," he said.
"We have given a lot of thought about it and if we have another off-spin option. Shoaib can be that option for us. In this type of weather conditions we'll need another bowler who can bat as well."

cricket