After winning the series against Sri Lanka and considering our past performances in the United Arab Emirates, we're full of confidence to face England. There is no doubt that beating them will be a huge challenge as they are coming here on the back of an Ashes win.

Our fans have lot of expectations from us therefore we need to put up a determined show and repeat the performances we gave against Australia and Sri Lanka.

England have a new team and, on paper, they may appear to be weak compared to the team we faced on their last visit in 2012. But keeping their recent performances in mind they have the team which can give us a tough time. They know the mistakes they made on the previous tour so they will be better prepared this time.

Losing that series 0-3 would have been a bitter experience for them and will no doubt make them more determined this time. Their spinners back then, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, were more experienced and destructive and I feel England are going to miss them. They had some big-name batsmen too, in Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott who will be missed.

A frustrated Kevin Pietersen after being dismissed in 2012 // Getty Images

England’s strength however lies in their pace attack, and we all saw what they did to Australia in the Ashes. They were extremely good with the new ball and also showed their skill with reverse swing. Even in the 2012 series here, albeit it was during the winter when the pitches had moisture, their pace attack didn’t let us post big totals. We struggled against their seamers hence surviving against new ball will be a key factor in this series.

England’s other strong suit is their allrounders, especially Ben Stokes. He adds so much depth to their batting. And then there is Mooen Ali whose spin cannot be taken lightly. Taking 19 wickets in a series against India was no mean achievement.

The inexperience of their squad in the Asian conditions will be their weakness. Most of their players are touring the UAE for the first time. It will be a challenge for their batsmen to bat on the slow pitches against our quality spin attack.

As far as our strength is concerned I think, on the evidence of our recent series wins against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Australia, it is our spin bowling. It is undoubtedly our strongest suit.

Spinner Yasir Shah celebrates a wicket against Sri Lanka in June // Getty Images

I would also like to mention the number of centuries our batsmen have scored lately. They helped us in putting up big totals. If you score 400-plus in the UAE then the chances of losing the game become slim. If you can grind the opposition for nearly two days in the UAE’s hot weather then it becomes easy for your bowlers to dominate them.

We need to be consistent with the batting performances. I feel the inconsistency with the bat is our only concern. If our batsmen manage to negotiate the new ball and bat well in the first session we will be in the driving seat.

We can draw comfort from the fact that we have comprehensibly beaten a mighty team like Australia just last year. It will give us motivation but having said that I think every series is a new series and every game is a new game. You can’t predict victories based on the previous wins. Confidence will surely be there but we need to apply ourselves again to beat England.

Joe Root will be their key player. He has scored runs at home and abroad and he is equally good against pace and spin. We will need to come up with special plans to tackle him. If you can control the threat of the opposition’s best player you stand more chances of winning.

Joe Root cools down after a nets session in Sharjah // Getty Images

Pakistan have not played a Test at home in the past six years. So as a cricket fan and a player I was really disappointed to learn Australia would not be touring Bangladesh due to security concerns. It is simply not good for our game.

We already have just nine or ten countries where cricket is played and if such situations keep arising then we will be left with even less. It will become really difficult for cricket to grow.

As a cricketer it is a huge disappointment for me. The governments should take special measures and make sure that cricket does not get affected.

Of all the bowlers I have faced in international cricket, Shane Warne was the most difficult. I played against him at the initial stage of my career. In three Tests against him in 2002 I came to know that he is a kind of bowler who can put batsmen in trouble anywhere and anytime. I don’t have much problems while playing spin but Warne is another story altogether.

Among fast bowlers, I have faced world class bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee but the one who I found most threatening was Jason Gillespie. His rhythm and action was too tough to handle.

Got him! Warne snares Misbah in 2002 // Getty Images

Apart from him I have been troubled by Morne Morkel because of his awkward bounce. No doubt Dale Steyn is a great bowler too but I found Morkel more difficult to handle. Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Kulasekara was also a tough cookie. Though he was a medium-pacer his swing bowling was hard to negotiate.

There was this match in Johannesburg where we were all out on 49. Styen did the major damage by takings six wickets but in that match Azhar Ali and myself found ourselves totally at sea when facing Morne Morkel. In one of his spells and we had no clue what was happening.

Also I cannot forget the Bangalore Test in 2007. There were so many cracks on the pitch and it had become really difficult to bat on. Ishant Sharma on debut was doing the tricks. He had Faisal Iqbal out with the second new ball and after that Kamran Akmal had a partnership with me.

Not only did I survive the spell I went on to score a hundred. It was one of the best bowling spells which I survived.

WATCH: Misbah destroys Australia to equal Sir Viv

The best day of my Test career though was in Abu Dhabi in 2014 when I equaled Sir Viv Richards’ fastest century record.

I was actually under lot of pressure before the series. I had not scored runs in the ODI series and I rested myself from the third match. I hit some form with a 69 in the first Test in Dubai and then scored a hundred in first innings of the second Test in Abu Dhabi but just when I was enjoying my batting I was caught and bowled by Steven Smith.

I was really frustrated and angry at myself for getting out to a part-time bowler so I came to bat in the second innings with an aim to score against Smith.

I managed to hit some good shots off him and soon reached fifty. When I reached 70 I got the message from dressing room that there is a possibility of the fastest century. I just took the chance and reached the century in 56 balls.

To achieve this feat against a world class team like Australia was a great achievement and a huge moment of satisfaction.

Speedy century: Misbah dominated Australia in 2014 // Getty Images