Abu Dhabi: Stand-in skipper Shahid Afridi on Tuesday revealed that Misbah-ul-Haq will remain in charge at next year’s World Cup despite the team’s impressive win following the regular captain’s injury.
Despite Test and One Day International (ODI) captain Misbah being ruled out of the ongoing series against New Zealand due to the hamstring injury he suffered during the second ODI, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to keep him with the team.
Without him on the field, Afridi led the team to a sensational 147-win in the third ODI on Sunday as they took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Earlier, during the preceding series against Australia, Afridi irked PCB officials by calling on them to make an immediate decision on who should lead the team to Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup, which starts on February 14. Misbah stepped down from the third match of the Australia series amid indications he had been asked to do so by the team management. Afridi was later forced to backtrack on his comments.
However, this time around, the PCB is being cautious in making sure nothing disturbs the camaraderie within the team — hence the decision to keep Misbah in the UAE until the end of the series.
The board has a policy of sending injured players home from tours for rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, but for Misbah they have chosen to make an exception.
Sources have said Misbah will require three to four weeks to recover from the injury.
“The reason Misbah has been told to remain with the team is to make sure Afridi or any other player don’t get wrong ideas about who will be captain in the World Cup,” a PCB official said.
“In the past, we have faced problems because of some players believing they were contenders for the ODI team captaincy. That’s why this time we have decided to keep Misbah with the team so that everyone knows who is the man in charge till the World Cup.”
However, Afridi, when asked if the news was true, said there was no issue and Misbah would lead the team into the World Cup. He added that the sole reason for Misbah staying back was to monitor the progress of the team.
“I think Misbah is still here as he is my captain till the World Cup. I think he is watching each and every thing and that’s why the management wanted him to be here,” said Afridi.
