“Rankings keep going up and down, you don’t play for rankings, but you obviously want to be a very strong side in the world, and that’s always been our aim, to be the best side in the world”.
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Miandad said that Pakistan’s efforts to draw the Test series in England showed that the country had plenty of cricket talent and they only needed to be spotted, groomed and guided properly. While Pakistan have a winning record in New Zealand – they’ve lost just five of 29 Tests they’ve played there since 1965 – they will have to reverse more than five decades of history if they are to have success in Australia, where they’ve won just four of 32 Tests.
Kohli said the team was satisfied with the outcome of the series as the fourth Test ended in a draw after a wet outfield led to abandonment of the match. “We as a nation are all proud of this achievement”.
“The ascension to the top of the ICC Test rankings culminates an incredible journey for Pakistan cricket”, he said.
“I said at the time that getting to number one was always a short-term incentive”, said Kohli at the post-match ceremony in bright sunshine. Kohli, however, has insisted that the team does not play for rankings.
India are scheduled to play 13 Tests at home over the next six months. The match will start at 6:00PM Pakistan Standard Time. Pakistan has also been forced to play their home matches in the United Arab Emirates since an armed attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009. This was then quickly followed by the infamous match-fixing scandal a year later in England which saw Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir jailed.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan branded the rise “historic”.
“I am just the lucky coach who has been with the team now but others have done wonderfully well”, he added, singling out his predecessor Waqar Younis. “People may say it’s easier to get there than to remain there, so we need to keep that momentum, and improve in the one-dayers”.
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Under Younis, Pakistan plummeted to number nine in one-day worldwide rankings – a slump which they need to address in the five-match series against England starting on Wednesday.
