Misbah to quit international cricket, but will he play in World Cup?
Misbah Ul Haq, the Pakistani middle order batsman, has announced that he will retire by the end of next year. The decision seems to have been made out of sheer frustration, after he was dropped for the Asia Cup and the Tests against Australia in the UK. Misbah had earlier expressed his displeasure after being dropped from the side.
For a team that gives players chances at a very young age, surprisingly, Misbah made his international debut in 2001 when he was 27.
But he shot to fame only during the inaugural ICC World T20 in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 won the game that was there for Pakistan's taking.
The following two years saw him having his best form for Pakistan. He was their best batsman during Pakistan’s tour of India garnered aplenty even in the Test matches. However, it was after 2009, he started having a reversal of fortunes and his form started to dip.
He was dropped ahead of the series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
He then returned to domestic cricket and used his good form there to make a comeback into the national side. The fine form in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy forced the selectors to recall him to the national side midway through the tour of New Zealand. But he failed to reproduce his form for the national side and was subsequently dropped.
Major shuffles followed after the team’s horrific showing in Australia, but Misbah kept his place in the squad for the ICC World T20 in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 earlier this year. However, that was to be the last straw. Once again, both Misbah and Pakistan had bad tournaments and he was dropped from the side and was replaced by some new faces like Umar Amin and Azhar Ali.
It was expected that he would be recalled to the side for the Test series against England, after the Pakistani middle order had shown its inexperience. However, the Pakistani management decided to stick to a side that had just won a game and there was no recall for Misbah.
Misbah could have been the right man for the middle order and could have strengthened the team with his experience and his ability to play with and protect the tail.
However, when his name was not included, it looks to have forced him to consider retirement. His central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board runs only till December. Misbah sounded philosophical when he announced this saying that this decision to retire had to be made one day and he had to make it even though he was sad.
He commented that both his luck and his time was running out and the presence of a lot of young faces in the Pakistan team made him think again about his plans to stay in the international arena. However, he also expressed his wish to play for Pakistan in the 2011 World Cup before making his exit from international cricket.
He also admitted that he had not been in good form over the last year but said that his passion for the game remained intact and that he has planned his retirement so that he will have just enough time to play the World Cup.
Pakistan will not want to lose one of its better batsmen this way. Misbah can be more than useful in the lower middle order and his experience will only benefit the youngsters who play alongside him. His ability to hang on till the end and finish an innings will be a bonus for the side, which hasn’t shown those qualities in the last year or so. One last chance for Misbah will not harm the Pakistani national side and he deserves the chance. The question though is, whether the selectors will want to have a veteran like Misbah on the squad when they know he is retiring instead of giving spot to a younger player.
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