Misbah to retire after West Indies tour
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LAHORE (APP)- Pakistan test captain Misbah ul Haq said on Thursday that he will be retiring from the game after three test match series against West Indies.
"I have decided to call it a day after finishing my last assignment which is the tour of West Indies and I want to end it on a successful note ", he told reporters here at a news conference at Gadaffi stadium.
The veteran batsman leads the Pak team during the three test series which starts from April 21 and with his retirement announcement a curtain falls on his illustrious cricket career and also brings an end to the speculations on his cricket playing future.
"West Indies tour will be my last cricket event and I have already conveyed my decision to the Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board, Shaharyar M Khan ", he said adding " Actually I have already decided to hang my shoes after the tour of West Indies and informed the PCB in this regard few days back ".
Misbah was appointed Test captain in October 2010 and retired from ODIs and T20Is after the 2015 World Cup. He has played 72 Test matches so far and scored 4951 runs and is the seventh highest test run scorer of the country.
He said leading Pakistan team is a great honour and he always led from the front to be a role model for the fellow colleagues.
"It was always my endeavor to bring glory for the country and during my stint as captain with the team I always played my due role in elevating teams performance,"he asserted.
Misbah, who got the distinction of being one of the Wisden's prestigious Five Cricketers of the Year rejected a questioner that he is calling it a day under pressure from PCB.
"All such claims are wrong , in every player's life a day comes when he quits the game and I was planning to retire in 2015 in UAE after our series against England but I continued based on my and team's performance and now it is appropriate time to leave,"said the Pak captain.
"It is my own decision and it is unfortunate that things are being portrayed in a wrong manner that PCB has put pressure on me to retire which is absolutely far from reality ",he said.
He dismissed another questioner that his continuation as captain for the tour of west Indies was a part of deal between him and the PCB to pursue him to retirement.
"These are mere speculations and nothing else ",said Misbah.
He said he took the west Indies tour as a challenge as believes that he can lead the side to success "We have not beaten them (West Indies) in their own back yard and I am confident that we can do so with a rousing display of collective team efforts and higher display of quality cricket ",he added.
Misbah said he always enjoy playing cricket and as captain he tries to justify in the role of team leader showing good performance and by taking right decisions at right time during the matches.
