Karachi, May 30 (IANS) Just days after being given the charge of Pakistan’s One-day team, Misbah-ul-Haq has made it clear that he is not desperate for the ODI captaincy.
Misbah, Pakistan’s Test captain, was asked to lead Pakistan in its two match One-day International series against Ireland in Belfast after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sacked all-rounder Shahid Afridi as Pakistan’s limited-overs skipper earlier this month.
The seasoned batsman was non-committal on whether he has been asked to lead Pakistan in ODI cricket on a long-term basis.
‘The decision on who captains the One-day side in future is the PCB’s of course. They asked me to lead the team in Ireland and I was happy to do that. I’m not desperate to be the One-day captain, but if the Board wishes me to skipper the day side, then I will do so,’ Misbah told portal pakpassion.com in an interview Monday.
‘I’ve always made my intentions and priorities very clear and that is to play well for Pakistan, irrespective of whether I am captain or not. If someone else is the captain, then that is not an issue for me. I will play under anyone as skipper and am not anxious to lead the team.’
Misbah expressed his disappointment on Pakistan’s failure to win the Test series against West Indies earlier this month.
‘Yes, it’s disappointing we didn’t win the Test series. It was a chance to make history and that was definitely on our minds. However, we didn’t play well enough in the first Test. The wicket was tricky and the West Indies bowlers bowled well. However, after the first Test defeat, I was pleased that the boys bounced back, fought hard and levelled the series. It was commendable that we won the second Test and remained unbeaten in our last three Test series.’
