Pakistan’s most successful test captain and one of the finest batsmen over the past decade, Misbah-ul-Haq is expected to make a clear announcement on his future plans on Friday before the team leaves for the tour of England.
The 42-year old has retired from ODI cricket after the World Cup in Australia last year but the board compelled him to continue playing the longest format of the game. But the player clearly looks to make an important decision on his future plans before heading to England.
“Misbah will officially announce it in press or would convey it to the board on Friday till when he wants to continue playing international cricket,” a PCB oficial said.
The player has helped Pakistan as a captain to overcome the disaster of spot-fixing scandal in 2010 which saw three of Pakistan’s players getting banned and have helped the team play decent cricket over the last few years.
This would be first time that Misbah will be playing a test match in England and he looks to finish the series on a high as there is no chance of him playing another England tour as he already 42 years old.
Misbah however sounds confident ahead of their tour as he believes that the current team is much stronger than the team that played in 2010.
“Our batting line is way more experienced than the side which toured England in 2010. Results will be better.”
“Facing the England pace attack will be the biggest challenge for Pakistan. We’ve been preparing for since the past month. Batsmen need to be well-disciplined against the England attack”, he added.
Misbah has a good captaincy record against England as he had already won two series against them in his 6 years as captain. The team has managed a whitewash against England in 2012 followed by another series win last year in UAE.
However nothing would be more complex than playing against a confident English side which has been in terrific form over the past few months especially at home. Big decision ahead for a big player before a big series which is set to begin.