Misbah appointed captain until World Cup: PCB chief

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Shahryar Khan said Misbah-ul-Haq had been appointed as the national team’s captain until the World Cup 2015 and there was not ambiguity over this.

The PCB chairman held a news conference here on Tuesday where he said the decision not to captain the side during the third ODI against Australia was made by Misbah.

"I had a long talk with Misbah and he remains our captain but he himself has said that if he doesn´t get runs in the coming tests against Australia and New Zealand he doesn´t want to be a burden on the team," Khan said.




Misbah withdrew himself from the third and final one-day match against Australia in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, raising doubts over his captaincy barely four months from the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

In an interview to a foreign newspaper, Misbah acknowledged that he may not lead the national side at the World Cup.

Misbah said: “If I am not scoring runs and my form is not there then I can’t say I have to play. The team and Pakistan are first.”

In Misbah’s absence the team was lead by Shahid Afridi but their fortunes did not change as Australia pulled off a sensational one-run win in the last over to seal a 3-0 whitewash.

In his post match news conference when asked if he would like to continue the one-day captaincy until the World Cup, Afridi said: "I think whoever is captain -- Misbah or me -- we should know about it. If I am to captain in the World Cup then I should know about it."




Shahryar Khan was also critical of Shahid Afridi news conference after the third ODI, saying that the all-rounder had said some irresponsible things.

"As far as the PCB is concerned, we are supporting Misbah and he is our captain till the World Cup," Khan said. "The remarks made by Afridi are regretful and unfortunate and perhaps gave the indication of something wrong in the team."We are looking into Afridi´s statement to see whether he has violated his central contract terms and if this is so disciplinary action can be taken against him."