Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq contemplating retirement after Oz series defeat
Pakistan Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq has said that he is contemplating immediate retirement after his side’s shocking Boxing Day Test defeat to Australia in Melbourne on Friday (Dec 30) for their fifth straight loss in a row and 11th consecutive Test defeat Down Under since 1995.
Pakistan went down by an innings and 18 runs in the second Test despite posting over 400 runs in the first innings, in what was a dramatic final day collapse to fall behind 2-0 in the three-Test series, with the skipper dismissed for a duck.
“I need to think about that (retirement) because I always believe if I can't contribute anything for the team then there is no point staying there," Misbah, possibly the oldest player in international cricket at 42 years and himself struggling for form, told a post-match news conference.
“I have to think about that even before the next game... the next couple of days, I will think about what to do because there is no point hanging around doing nothing. I haven't decided that but let's see.”
The final Test starts in Sydney on Jan 3.
“I was thinking about my retirement a long time ago, even when I was playing against England in Dubai (in late 2015),” said the skipper, who has played 71 Tests.
“I was thinking we had Tests against India... I would play against India and that's it. But then we had difficult tours against England, New Zealand, and Australia and I thought that's not the right time (to retire).
“That's why I hung around and even at that stage, (the plan) wasn't to play for two or three years.”
Speaking about the dramatic final day collapse, Misbah said, “There is no explanation (for the collapse).... pressure does some things but full credit to Australia, who put us under pressure.
“Things happened before that, in such a small period we gave them a lead of almost 200 runs. A lot of things like that, it is not easy for any batting lineup to play in this type of situation.
“I think we should take the blame as a batting unit, the pitch was very good. It was only the pressure we couldn't handle.”