LAHORE: Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Friday he was mulling retirement after the upcoming Pakistan-England series, and hoped to leave the game on a high.
The 41-year-old said the series against England “could be my last”.
“I have not yet taken the final decision about it [retiring], but I am thinking about it,” Misbah told media on the sidelines of a training camp here at the Gaddafi Stadium, adding that he was considering his options.
Misbah retired from Twenty20 cricket in 2012 and left One-day Internationals after Pakistan’s quarter-final finish in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in March.
He said he wanted to leave Test cricket with “good memories”.
“People remember your final performance,” he said.
Last month, Misbah had announced he will retire after an upcoming bilateral series against India in the UAE, but the December-January contest is in serious doubt due to tensions between the arch-rivals.
The delay in India’s confirmation for the scheduled series against Pakistan is one of the reasons Misbah is contemplating retiring from Test cricket.
If the India-Pakistan series doesn’t go ahead, Pakistan’s next Test assignment is against England in July next year.
“This is the point on which I am thinking too, I have to see how I will keep myself ready for the next series because there’s not much domestic cricket during this period,” Misbah said.
Pakistan take on the Ashes-winning England team in a three-Test series in the United Arab Emirates starting in Abu Dhabi on Oct 13.
On the forthcoming series against England, Misbah warned the conditions in the UAE will be challenging for Alastair Cook and company.
“This English team have done well in the Ashes,” Misbah said. “But they do not have experience of UAE conditions and that will be a big challenge for them.”
He refused to be drawn on the prospect of another 3-0 rout of the Lions, such as the one in the UAE under his captaincy three years ago.
“We have to take it match by match, session by session and once you win sessions you go towards the bigger goals. We are not thinking of 3-0, England is a top team and we have to play well and think how to tackle them.”
Misbah, who equalled Test cricket’s fastest century record -- held by West Indies’ Viv Richards -- against Australia last year in the UAE, will be forming a batting nucleus along with Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq, who all played in 2012 against England.
Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar were among England’s spin ranks in the last series, but now England will be relying heavily on Moin Ali’s off-spin to trouble Pakistan’s strong middle order on slow UAE tracks.
“Last time their spin bowling was quite experienced and Swann was world’s No. 1 bowler in Test cricket, but now they have Moin Ali,” Misbah noted.
When asked if Pakistan would miss Saeed Ajmal — one of the architects of the 2012 rout with 24 wickets — Misbah said Pakistan have replacements in leg-spinner Yasir Shah and left-armer Zulfiqar Babar.
“Yasir and Zulfiqar are doing extraordinarily well and that’s a big plus, so they haven’t made us feel anyone’s absence,” said Misbah.
“I hope that they won’t let us down [in the England series] in the absence of Ajmal and will do well.”
Ajmal was not selected for the series after he struggled with a remodelled bowling action required to overcome suspension.
He was suspended for illegal action by the International Cricket Council last year.
Published in Dawn October 3rd, 2015
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