Misbah rules out quitting ODI cricket

E-Paper | February 23, 2026

Misbah ul Haq. -Photo by AFP

LAHORE: Pakistan's under fire captain Misbah-ul-Haq has ruled out quitting one-day internationals.

Misbah told reporters on Thursday that he had instead decided to adopt a more aggressive and positive approach to batting after being criticised for his slow displays.

“I have discussed this with all my players and they all agreed that overall we all needed to be more positive while batting and put aside fears of losing our wicket,” Misbah said.

“They have all pushed me to play more shots and be more positive. I have no intentions of returning to play T20s for Pakistan. I have changed my batting style because I believe I can continue to play ODIs which I don't want to quit now.”

Misbah, 38, who has been Pakistan's test captain since 2010 and ODI skipper since 2011, has come in for criticism in Pakistan for his batting and captaincy after his side were swamped 3-0 in the test series in South Africa and lost the one-day series 3-2.

“I have heard what the critics have had to say. It has fired me up and also made me reassess how I can play a more purposeful role for my team as a batsman and for myself,” he said.

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shakir

Mar 28, 2013 04:19pm

good call skipper!

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Fen

Mar 28, 2013 04:25pm

You are great Misbah! Perhaps Pakistan team is one man army in Batting whether test or ODI,we can just count on you.Others look like they are going to end the match in 5 overs.Keep on serving Pakistan with your valuable service.Team in Green needs you now and always.

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Asif

Mar 28, 2013 04:29pm

Why everyone in my country, all the people at important posts need to be pushed or kicked and humiliated? Why can't just leave respectfully and honourably, with head held high? Only one person I can recall has done that and he was Imran and look at him where is he standing today, what a man he is!

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Karachi Wala

Mar 28, 2013 04:32pm

Good news that Misbah is willing to adopt a more aggressive and positive approch. However, instead of saying quitting one-day internationals, should have just said, I will play as long as selecters will select me.

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Iqbal

Mar 28, 2013 05:24pm

Mr. Tuk-Tuk has changed his batting style at the age of 38.... bohahaha....

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Iqbal

Mar 28, 2013 05:25pm

one after the other, the senior players are refusing to retire... first Afridi, then Misbah did this... let's wait for a similar statements from Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, and Shoaib Malik

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Mustafa

Mar 28, 2013 05:38pm

Misbah, you have earned your place in our ODI and test teams. We are not bothered by how many candles you light on your birthday cake. Performers deserve to be in the team. Non-performers should either retire themselves, with respect, or PCB should show them the door, the common disrespectful way to go out.

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AJN

Mar 28, 2013 05:42pm

In the context of International ODIs is he a better batsman than Ponting, Hussey, or Tendulkar? All three of them have since retired from International ODIs.

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MA Houston

Mar 28, 2013 07:35pm

Misbah Bhai great going. Don't worry about critics all of them had an average in 30's and strike rate in 60's. Great going I hope you can play till 2015 world cup.

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Najib

Mar 28, 2013 08:15pm

I think after being a big critic person against him, he has finally came through by playing match winning innings. He did seem like he had some psychological issue that he had to deal with which was not being able to finish the job of winning the match and staying til the end, but now he has finally achieved it against a good team like South Africa and I believe he is a one good player in our team right now, he has improved his batting.

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A Subhan

Mar 28, 2013 09:02pm

We need you, Misbah... Please stay there in both ODI and test formats of cricket. If you leave, the other batsmen will not reach even close to respecful totals....

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Mar 28, 2013 09:07pm

Too little too late. Misbah needs to go, he is too old for all formats of the game.

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zaffar

Mar 28, 2013 09:20pm

At the age of 39,Misbah realises that it is high time to change his batting style.It should be more aggressive.I think it is high time to quit now buddy.

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Mohammed Baluch

Mar 28, 2013 09:37pm

Improvement in Misbah's style was obvious as the one day matches progressed in S.A. However, for Pakistani fast bowlers to be more effective, they have to be backed by super catching behind the stumps. We have good fielders in front of the stumps, but not behind them i.e. the wicket keeping and slip fieldsmen have lost us many a game. With Waqar and Wasim , they got a lot of their wickets through leg before and clean bowled. With Irfan, Junaid, Wahab, Gul - and on bouncy and seaming pitches, we should be ready to grab even half chances to beat teams like SA, England and Australia.

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kirther

Mar 28, 2013 11:14pm

Misbah it time for you to go and you should do it gracefully.

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Fahim Khan

Mar 28, 2013 11:20pm

Sure SIR you are only 38 and I guess with the current management you can last till you are 83

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Mandeep

Mar 29, 2013 01:17am

I bet Pakistan does not has his replacement. Age is not on his side, but he has temprament and technique of a great batsman. The Only other technically sound batsman is Umar Akmal. Very few batsmen in the world middle the ball so cleanly as Umar. I dont know why majority of Pakistani cricket fans do not support these two batsmen.

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Mar 29, 2013 03:56am

i think the guy should quit one day while still ahead.. He should stick to test cricket.

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Denzel Washington

Mar 29, 2013 05:56am

Time to quit Misbah. At 38 years of age, you can't realistically expect miracles and wonders from yourself. You are basically a limited and defensive player. Your captaincy style is often laid back and reactive. In this day and age, to win consistently in any sports particularly cricket you need to have a workable strategy and plus you have got to have a positive and assertive approach. Having said that, you also need to have your basics covered, which means doing simple routine things appropriately such as fielding adequately, bowling in the right and consistent channels and batting diligently during the early stages alongwith other facets of the game. A lot of things said above are not entirely your fault although you have been a contributor towards the menace (if I may put it harshly) nonetheless.

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Capt C M Khan

Mar 29, 2013 06:16am

Good move Misbah, we know you have the TALENT, FITNESS and MOTIVATION. You could have beaten SA in ODIs only if you were not afraid of dropping Younus and Shoaib These two sunk the team and even Afridi, after first ODI you could see all these three were not performing so you could have replaced them.

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Naila

Mar 29, 2013 06:23am

All the best to Misbah, an excellent leader for the team.

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Pakistani

Mar 29, 2013 08:11am

After playing 110 or so ODIs, he has not scored a single century! This shows just how fragile his temperament is and how he is unlikely to successfully lead as a Captain in future also. It is time he should realise his limitations and bow out but then again, who wants to ever leave the team with their dignity intact.

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bhattikami

Mar 29, 2013 09:26am

Misbah ul Haq had played well in recent past series against South Africa.If he will play positive & aggressive cricket like he did in south Africa i think he should continue to play ODI. in the light of Mishah ul Haq' s statement he seems to more confident & believe himself to do well. Yes Misbah your carry Onnnnnnnnnnn. Regards Kamran Bhatti

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Naila

Mar 29, 2013 09:27am

To those on this forum, who think Misbah should quit: Misbah's numbers in the recent South Africa series: 1. Tests: Misbah was #5 in most runs scored (Pakistan and South Africa combined) after AB de Villiers, HM Amla, Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan; #3 in most runs scored and #5 in batting average in Pakistan team. 2. ODIs: He was #2 in most runs scored (Pakistan and South Africa) after AB de Villiers; #1 in Pakistan team. 3. In all matches: He was #4 in batting average for Pakistan. Objectively speaking, that's 'mighty good' for a 39-year-old .. isn't it? Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-pakistan-2013/content/series/567340.html

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Syed

Mar 29, 2013 09:51am

It is very easy to criticize someone, we should not ignore Misbah's contribution. Also remember the time when no body was accepting or capable of captaining Pakistan team since corruption, and other issues crept into Pakistan team.

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Pakistani

Mar 29, 2013 09:56am

Please see the number of match winning innings played by AB and by Misbah in their careers so far and you will see the difference in class. Also, AB de Villiers averages 50 in ODIs and Tests and has 14 centuries in ODIs against zero centuries by Misbah (even after playing against Bangladesh!)

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bijay

Mar 29, 2013 12:43pm

keep going misba u r good captain !

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syed

Mar 29, 2013 04:48pm

de villiers doesnt play for pak

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syed

Mar 29, 2013 04:51pm

he has the highest avg in the team, which means more runs and consistency, centuries mean little when few and far in between. Also he bats 4 or 5 down and plays with the tail. Obviously little time to score a century.

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syed

Mar 29, 2013 04:53pm

for someone with bad captaincy.. as you say... he has been the most successful yet in pak history. obviously you don't know what good captaincy is

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syed

Mar 29, 2013 04:53pm

age makes no difference, he remains the best batsmen in the team, find a replacement then talk

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kamran

Mar 29, 2013 08:08pm

Misbah got temperament for a good captain and batsman. He should be the captain until next ODI worldcup.

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zeeshansyed

Mar 29, 2013 09:06pm

I believe there is more Cricket inside Misbah than there is in Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanveer, Shoaib Malik etc. However, if he wants to continue to play for Pakistan, let alone Captain the side, he "needs" for his sake and for Pakistan's sake to change the way he plays. He needs to play a more aggressive role instead of that timid "tuk tuk" batting that he is famous for. If he can score runs with strike rate of above 85 then I think that'll help Pakistan go a long way.

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Critic

Mar 30, 2013 01:42am

And Sachin scored 50 plus centuries both r same age

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Mark

Mar 30, 2013 03:02am

If Misbah is 38,then I am not even born yet.the last time Misbah was 38 was 10 years ago.look it up.

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Rashid Ansari

Mar 30, 2013 04:12am

I see Misbah's contribution as follows: 1. In the T20 final with India - Three balls left and he tried to play an innovative shot and gifted his wicket and we lost the final. 2. In the world cup semi final in India (one day international). He was playing defensive shots while run rate was climbing anf finally tried to hit a six and gifted a simple catch to Indian fielder - we lost the semi-final. 3. In a recent series in South Africa, his captainacy was questionable - field setting was not upto the standard. Dr. Rashid Ansari

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shahid.sopore

Mar 30, 2013 05:23am

well at d present juncture misbah is far more better batsman than many other pakistan players,, in fact he should move up d order wich will make him to handle d pakistan innings more better but yes as a captain he can be debated. Also pakistan is d only team which plays a player as a specialist fielder like shaoib malik,, i mean he doesnt bat doest bowl nd has failed as a late order batsman. Either play him at top order where he has tasted success or pakistan shoud not be lingering with him

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ikram

Mar 30, 2013 06:05am

Misbah, i thnk u must get safe exit please. Otherwise u knw what happens if someone doesnt producive good result. As pak and senior player, its ur duty to gve chance new talent. Pak has enough talent to make strong batting line.your example is like our politicians and bureaucrats they dnt retire till thy are forced by nature or govrnment.

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aammi@yahoo.com

Mar 30, 2013 07:29am

Bro, it is not about the score it is about to lead the team to win the game. Miadad, Salim malik, Inzimam, Yosuf are few examples, look at those players they were pillar of waiting line and they played according to the situation. Scoring more runs is no use when your team is losing. When he is on crease he creates the pressure on the team with his batting style.

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aammi@yahoo.com

Mar 30, 2013 07:32am

He is 39 and by the word cup he be 41 do we need him?

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kamran

Mar 30, 2013 01:28pm

By next odi worldcup we should have replacement for Younis Khan and ShoaibMalik/ShahidAfridi. By then should have 2 matured middle order batsman and one allrounder. Mohammad Aamir will be in the line up also. After odi worldcup Misbah should retire.

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