Misbah-ul-Haq concedes that he contemplated retirement following disastrous Australia series
“To tell you the truth, the respect the team and its management gave to me is something I will cherish forever,” Misbah said.
Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq who called it quits from international cricket after the Test series against West Indies conceded that he was about to retire from international cricket following Pakistan’s disastrous campaign in Australia where they lost the Test series by a 3-0 margin. Barring the opening Test where they almost created history by chasing down a big total of 490 courtesy a brilliant inning from Asad Shafiq but fell agonisingly short in the end and lost by 30 odd runs.
The Pakistan captain said that it was his teammates who convinced him to continue the series against West Indies citing that he deserved a grand farewell and they will the series to bid him a memorable adieu. Misbah had a sensational farewell series which included two 99’s while he also managed to score another fifty in the final match of the series.
After the Australia tour
“Let me say that after the Australia tour, I was giving serious thought to retirement, but every player came to me and said that this is not how you have to leave cricket. They told me that I had to play the next series against the West Indies and that they would win and give me a proper send-off with victory as a present,” Misbah was quoted as saying by Pak Passion.net.
He was overjoyed with the respect his teammates and the Pakistan team management showed which made it a memory for life.
“To tell you the truth, the respect the team and its management gave to me is something I will cherish forever,” he further added. The 42-year-old said that following the retirement of him and Younis Khan the onus will be now on the likes of Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Sarfaraz Ahmed to take Pakistan to greater heights.
“Now that both of us have retired, I look upon these three fine batsmen to carry on the mission and the role that we performed. They have all played enough Test cricket and in my view, they can fill the gap left by our departure to guide the youngsters, who will be replacing us in the future,” he added.
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