LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan was all praise for the retiring Misbah-ul-Haq on Tuesday, crediting the 40-year-old for forging ‘great team unity’ during his time as Pakistan captain.

Misbah announced on Sunday his decision to retire from One-day International cricket after the February-March World Cup and at a joint news conference on Tuesday with the Pakistan captain and team manager Naveed Akram Cheema, Shaharyar hailed Misbah’s contribution.

“It is sad for us that a top cricketer, a talented captain and a reputed human being like Misbah will not play ODI and T20 cricket but the good thing is that he will still be playing Test cricket,” Shaharyar said at the Gaddafi Stadium where Pakistan’s training camp for the World Cup started on Tuesday.

“We have to play ODIs against India and England after the World Cup and we will surely miss Misbah but it’s his own decision to retire, and I have all the respect for him,” added the PCB chief.

“I value players who have the courage to take the decision to retire on their own and Misbah conveyed his decision to me about a week back. I didn’t pressurise him into quitting captaincy nor did I ask him to rethink his decision as it’s his prerogative.

“In my first tenure as PCB chairman [from 2004-06], Misbah wasn’t part of the team but I advised him to keep continuing his efforts. Now you can see where he has taken Pakistan especially after taking over the captaincy in very challenging circumstances.”

During Shaharyar’s first tenure, then-captain Inzamam-ul-Haq enjoyed firm control over selection matters and kept Misbah at bay. Insiders observed Inzamam feared Misbah, considering him a potential threat to some settled batsmen in the middle-order.

“Although we were playing at a neutral venue, we beat Australia in the Test series in the UAE last year under Misbah’s leadership,” Shaharyar sadi. “Misbah’s maturity and decency were the reasons we kept backing him.

“You won’t find anyone better than him. He has taken criticism on the chin, proved critics wrong with his performances and he’s a star of Pakistan cricket.”

Shaharyar said that he’d toured India with the national team as manager in 1999 as well as at the World Cup in 2003, but the team unity he’s seen under Misbah was unparalleled. “I believe in team unity and building on that unity is key for our chances at the World Cup,” he said.

He added that at this point in time he wasn’t in the position to share the name of the next captain but when asked if the PCB would go backwards and appoint one of the seniors as the skipper; he said chances “were very slim” for the ageing lot.

Cheema, who has rejoined the Pakistan team as manager for the World Cup, also hailed Misbah — both as a cricketer and a captain.

“Misbah is not only a good human being and a cricketer, but he is also very patriotic,” Cheema said. “People come and go but the retirement of Misbah means we will lose a player of great stature but hopefully we’ll use his expertise in the future.”

Cheema reinforced Shaharyar’s claim that team unity will be crucial to Pakistan’s chances. “If we will play with the same unity, which I’m seeing at the camp at present, I believe the team has the ability to beat any team on any given day,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2015

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