Misbah-ul-Haq regrets not having captained Pakistan against India

It is my regret that I couldn't lead the team against India, especially when our Test side was doing so well: Misbah-ul-Haq.

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Misbah-ul-Haq Pakistan
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Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq, who announced his retirement from Test cricket on Thursday, was regretful for not having led Pakistan against India in a Tests. Misbah also deplored the fact that Pakistan haven’t been able to square off against arch-rivals India in the longest format of the game for quite some time now.

In general, India have refused to play a bilateral series with Pakistan as a result of political tensions. Pakistan were last seen in India for a 3-match ODI series back in December 2012, which the visitors won 2-1.

As far as Test matches are concerned, both teams last locked horns 10 years ago in Bengaluru in the third and final Test of the series. Although the match was drawn, it saw brilliant performances from India’s batsmen. Sourav Ganguly scored a fantastic double hundred and his 239 was his highest score in Test match cricket. Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan also got centuries as India piled up a massive 626 runs in the first innings.

In reply, it was Misbah-ul-Haq who scored a well made 133 in Pakistan’s 537. Ganguly once again played a steady knock of 91 in India’s 2nd innings. The prince of Bengal went on to grab the Man of the Match as well as the Man of the Series award as India won the series 1-0.

Misbah was indeed disappointed that he couldn’t captain Pakistan against India during a phase when Pakistan were ranked the best Test side. “What can one say? It [scheduling] is not in our hands but yes, it is my regret that I couldn’t lead the team against India, especially when our Test side was doing so well,” Misbah was quoted as saying to PTI.

Following his decision to retire from Tests, Misbah shared, “We became number one in Test rankings, they also achieved this pinnacle and that too without playing against each other. I just hope bilateral ties resume as soon as conditions improve.”

The 42-year-old veteran remains Pakistan’s most successful captain, having one 24 out of 53 Tests that he captained. However, there were several rumours concerning his retirement over the last couple of years. The cricketing fraternity was almost convinced that Misbah would call it quits after being handed a whitewash against Australia down under in 2016. Nevertheless, Misbah stood his ground, saying that he will retire when the time is right.

“I have achieved a lot in my career, that is why I decided to retire from T20 Internationals in 2012 and then ODIs after the World Cup 2015. And now I think after taking everything into account, this is the best time for me to also retire from Test matches,” he added.
“It is a personal decision and the Pakistan Cricket Board has nothing to do with it. I have been thinking about it for a while now,” Misbah concluded.

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