Misbah-ul-Haq has acknowledged the possibility that he may not be Pakistan’s captain at the 2015 World Cup.
His deteriorating form over the past few months compelled him to step aside for the final one-day international (ODI) against Australia in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. His action came amid growing speculation of differences within the Pakistan side, as well that his decision on Sunday may be a permanent one.
Speaking to The National after Pakistan's one-run loss, Misbah, ever calm, gently patted aside suggestions of tension within the team and a lack of support which forced him to step aside for Shahid Afridi.
But despite the public pronouncement earlier on Sunday of the Pakistan board chairman Shaharyar Khan that the captaincy was still Misbah's to give up, comments by Afridi in the post-match press conference suggest he considers the matter far from closed and himself as a contender.
Additionally, the Pakistan board had already given public assurances to Misbah before this series that he will be the man to lead them to the World Cup. But on Sunday evening, the 40-year-old veteran conceded he would be uncomfortable doing that, should he not find some form soon.
Read more: Osman Samiuddin on how Misbah remains as divisive as ever
He will have a chance to do that over the course of five Tests now, two against Australia and three against New Zealand. Asked whether he still considered himself Pakistan’s full-time ODI captain, Misbah said: “Yes, I have no other intention. But, obviously, I will have to see over the next few Tests because form and runs are very important.
“If I am not scoring runs and my form is not there then I can’t say I have to play. The team and Pakistan are first. If I can get my form back and score runs then I will be back but if not then, obviously, you can’t put the team in such a difficult situation and you have to decide.”
If he still considers himself the ODI captain and so does the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), then nobody seems to have sent the memo to Afridi.
Afridi recently was appointed as Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain. He also is a former ODI captain as well as an influential power centre within the side. On Sunday, he called on the board to make a decision soon on who will be the ODI captain.
“I think whoever is the captain, Misbah or me, we should know about it,” he said. “If I am to captain in the World Cup then I should know about it.”
It was a strange press conference, late Sunday. Afridi was asked how he came to know of Misbah’s decision to stand aside, to which he glibly responded that it was through the media. That irked the team manager, and chief selector, Moin Khan.
Once the last question had been answered Moin went to Afridi and tersely instructed him to revisit his answer to the query about how and when he found out, with a greater degree of seriousness. The backstory behind that exchange lies in the management’s unhappiness with the fact that the story of Afridi taking over was leaked to the press from within the side on Saturday night.
Misbah played down speculation that pressure from management or the board, or machinations by players, pushed him to step down.
“I requested the management and Shahid myself that I want to step down,” he said.
“We have a month and a half of Tests ahead and my form was out, the team was hurting because of it and we had lost the series so I thought, fine, let another guy play in my place. Instead of going into the Tests with more pressure I can focus on this little gap now to get a little fresh and hopefully get my form back.”
That, he remains confident, can happen. He was the world’s leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2013, though never without the accompanying criticism that he lacked an influence on the team batting.
The only real difference between then and now has not been that he has looked out of touch: he has just been getting out.
He averages 22.5 from 10 ODIs this year, with just two 50s. But four of his 10 dismissals, as he pointed out, have been run-outs. “Sometimes luck doesn’t favour you. …I have been run out four times. Sometimes this happens. I’m not despondent about this and the good thing is that my form overall is OK, even in nets. I am picking it, middling it.”
Rare has been the Pakistan captain who has willingly stepped aside even temporarily to try and regain form, so coveted is the post. However, Misbah said the decision had not been a difficult one to make.
“It depends on your confidence in the team, in the management, in how the board is supporting you. The situation at this time was such that I felt anyone else who played in my place was better for the team.
“Maybe Afridi could come in with a fresh mind. For the team to win was necessary, by any means and in that scenario I thought I should not play and that Shahid leads and whoever plays in my place could be more of a help. Having that confidence in the players, management and the board, that made it easier for me.”
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