“I don’t think I need to pre-announce it”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has revealed that he is still undecided about when he will announce his retirement, but insisted that he doesn’t need to mark the end of his career with a farewell series.

With that in mind, Misbah pointed out that he would be free to retire when he pleased instead of having to “pre-announce it”.

In April, the 42-year-old hinted that the upcoming three-Test series against Australia could be his last, but while Misbah feels like age is catching up to him, he made it clear that his desire to keep playing still burns bright.

“I am at a certain stage of my career where I only think what I can give back to my team,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I am thinking but haven’t reached any conclusion, but my whole thought process is all about the team – if they can move on without me or not. And how I can do more as a senior to inspire and make this team stand on its own.

“I do believe these boys have the capability to take responsibility and can deliver. So I am actually thinking if it’s a good to leave at this stage. But this is a decision I want to take on my own and I don’t think I need to pre-announce it. I don’t think that it is necessary for me to mark any series my last but I can take it any time without even having a farewell. I don’t have to make my retirement plan a big issue by beating drums all over.”

Misbah recently missed the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton as he returned home following the death of his father-in-law. Had the tragedy not occurred, the Pakistan skipper would have missed the game anyways as he received a one-game ban for committing his second over-rate offence within a 12-month period in the first Test in Christchurch.

Azhar Ali took over as captain for the second Test, which Pakistan lost by 138 runs after collapsing in unbelievable circumstances as they lost nine wickets in the final session on the last day.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were unimpressed with Azhar’s leadership skills and have reportedly asked Misbah to identify another player that could succeed him as captain.

“Both Azhar and Sarfraz Ahmed are good choices but the former’s batting suffers whenever he leads the side,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said recently. “All-rounder Imad Wasim can also be a candidate as he has impressed the PCB with his ability to handle pressure at crucial stages of matches.”

Despite being whitewashed 2-0 by New Zealand, Pakistan retained the same squad, which is something that has met with Misbah’s approval.

“The alarming situation is that our main batsmen are out of form. Otherwise these boys have beaten England in their own conditions,” he said. “In New Zealand, we were not able to get time to adjust and the pitches were all in favour of bowlers. Even the New Zealand batsmen struggled most of the time because conditions were unplayable. But in Australia, you have a lot of opportunities to score runs and you either get out or play your strokes.

“It’s not like we are not capable enough to compete against Australia in Australia. We are. Yes, we are low on confidence after losing three straight Tests and it’s tough to regather ourselves but we have to and we will. Our batsmen have done it in the past, our bowlers are good but they need to be pushed hard and they have to take responsibility. So, overall this team has everything you need to win a game and I am sure we are very much capable.”

Misbah also believes that batsman Babar Azam has the ability to cement his place at the No. 3 spot, which means that Azhar will continue to open the batting and Asad Shafiq will return to his regular No. 6 spot.

“For the sake of team requirement we had to move him [Azhar Ali] up as we needed to have an experienced hand in the opening slot,” Misbah added. “So we moved Asad, but it was never a long-term prospect as we now have Babar Azam building up for No. 3 position and he has shown the promise. We also realised that we were missing out much-needed partnerships between Asad and Sarfraz so now he can go and bat at his regular number.”