Under fire Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul Haq has no intention of retiring from ODIs or step down from the post despite his side’s loss in the ODI series against Australia in the UAE.
“No doubt we struggled to dominate in batting and didn’t take command on the field but we tried to select the best playing eleven for all the matches,” Misbah told reporters after returning home from Dubai.
“I enjoy the honor of leading Pakistan in ODIs and Tests and take pride in my own personal performances. It is disappointing we lost to Australia but we need to move on and learn from our mistakes. Definitely, we need improvements in different areas as we repeating same mistakes,” he said.
Soon after Pakistan lost the final match and the series, several former players and critics have called for Misbah to retire from one-day international cricket.
The 38-year old suffered his second successive one-day series loss as captain since the Asia Cup.
Former chief selector and the coach of the national team until March this year, Mohsin Khan said that the captain and coach had made several mistakes in the series.
“Honestly speaking this was a weak Australian side and conditions didn’t favour them at all. We had a great chance to win a one-day series against them after 10 years and we squandered it due to poor tactics and a defensive approach,” Mohsin, a former Test player, said.
Aamir Sohail was also unimpressed by Misbah’s captaincy. “He should learn how to use his fast bowlers better like Australia did. He didn’t utilise Junaid Khan when the spinners were struggling with the wet ball in the final match.”
Former captain, Wasim Akram has also criticised Misbah’s captaincy and batting and blamed him for the defeat.
Pakistan’s former Test pacer, Sarfaraz Nawaz said he was surprised at the way Misbah led the side. “I don’t know why he was under so much pressure. He led the side defensively and even his batting was not inspiring. We should have won this series.”
Misbah in no mood to step down
