No intensions to retire, says Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq

No intensions to retire, says Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakistan One-day and Test captain, Misbah-ul-Haq has made it clear that he would keep playing international cricket as long as he performs both as batsman and skipper. Strongly defending his performance, the 38-year-old old stated that age does not matter.

"There is this misconception in our country that a player who is of my age shouldn’t be playing and should retire. My philosophy is age does not matter as long as I retain my passion to perform at the international level and I am doing this," he said.

"People say I bat slowly but I know I have a role to play in the team and I do that. People remember how I got out in the 2007 World T20 final against India, they don’t remember how we got to that stage. People say I am not a finisher and have not scored
a century in One-day cricket but I can recount many innings when I remained unbeaten and finished matches."

Misbah, who will lead the side on the upcoming crucial tour to India, described that the media and selectors should change their opinion about the senior players, adding that a player should not be dropped just because of the age factor.

"I think what is most important for us is that we bring consistency in our selection and allow players a proper chance to settle down in the team. A player needs to know clearly how much the selectors and team management are willing to go with him. I have
as captain tried to introduce consistency in the team but have not always been successful in this."

"We also need to value our players in whom we have invested a lot and we need to utilise their seniority and experience properly and consistently," Misbah said.

The Mianwali-born cricketer has represented Pakistan in 106 One Day Internationals (ODIs), scoring almost 3000 runs at an average of 42.18. His Test stats are even more impressive. With the help of three hundreds and 17 fifties, the right-handed middle-order
batsman has piled up 2284 runs in 36 games so far.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=35625

Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Dec 2 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry