Misbah-ul-Haq vows to bat aggressively now

Motivated to prove his critics wrong, Pakistan’s Test and One Day International (ODI) skipper, Misbah-ul-Haq, has vowed to play aggressive cricket in future and said healthy criticism is always positive but no one should doubt the potential of a player.

The cricketer from Mianwali, who made his Test debut in 2001, failed to cement his place in the national team up until 2007 during the ICC World T20 in South Africa. Excelling late in his career, the right-handed batsman was made the Test captain in 2010 after Salman Butt was banned from international cricket.

Misbah has turned out to be one of the most successful captains of Pakistan’s history, whitewashing England in UAE last year, which is arguably Pakistan’s greatest achievement in the longer format of the game.

In recent times, the 38-year-old cricketer has been criticised by the cricket fans because of his defensive approach in batting and captaincy; however, Misbah claims that he curbed his natural instincts for the benefit of the team and plans to play aggressively in future.

“My approach to play according to the team’s requirement was misunderstood as my weakness but I will continue to play like this, whether or not I achieve success,” said the Pakistan captain. “Everyone should think twice before making a comment. Players have always gone through lean patches but that doesn’t mean they should be written off.”

During the recently-concluded ODI series against South Africa, Misbah batted with a positive intent and performed exceptionally well. The right-handed batsman also helped Faisalabad Wolves clinch the title in the Faysal Bank Super 8 T20 Tournament 2013 in Lahore.

Pakistan’s captain is enjoying his game and has no plans to announce his retirement in near future.

“Whatever has been said and done (against me) is useless. Criticism is always healthy but never doubt one’s potential rather than looking for negative angles to mow down a player. Cricket is my passion and I am enjoying it more than ever, otherwise playing cricket without passion is pointless,” he added.

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Posted by Yasir Hashmi on Apr 2 2013. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.