Perpetually ignored Misbah says he wanted to burn his cricket kit in frustration!

KARACHI - Before the sudden turn of events in which he was recently made the Pakistan Test team’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq was reportedly so frustrated by the national selectors’ decision to continue ignoring him for all three formats of the game last summer, that he even thought about burning his cricket kit!

“It is very disappointing, you find yourself in the eleven and suddenly you are not even in a preliminary squad of 35, it prompts you to burn all your cricket equipment in anger,” The News quoted Misbah, as saying in an interview.

But as luck would have it, just over three months later, the 36-year-old from Mianwali has been recalled to represent Pakistan in all three formats during the series against South Africa getting underway in the United Arab Emirates from October 26.

More importantly he has been named as Pakistan’s Test captain for the UAE series, making him the fourth man to lead the team this year, though the PCB’s decision has triggered a wave of criticism by former players and experts.

However, Misbah believes that people underestimating him should do so at their own peril.

“I do not agree with what they are saying, doubting my abilities as a captain, and saying I am not capable of delivering,” he said.

“I know the task assigned to me is not easy. However, underestimating me as a captain and batsman is not fair as one always learns with time and improves,” added the batsman, who was dropped from Pakistan’s Test squad after flopping miserably in the Sydney Test against Australia last January.

Earlier in an interview, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram had said that “He has been out of the team since the beginning of the year and to bring him back as a captain was a bit shocking.”

But Misbah is confident that his training sessions while out of the national team will pay off in the UAE. “I did not give up. I used to train to keep myself in prime form… And I was engaged in cricket because I was confident that I can make a comeback, which eventually happened,” he said.

Geoff Lawson, the former Pakistan coach, has however come out in Misbah’s support, calling him a winner.

“He definitely has the best cricket brain and intellect in Pakistan cricket,” the former Australian Test fast bowler said in an interview, adding, “He has a statesman-like demeanour which so many Pakistan captains have lacked and he handles adversity analytically not emotionally. He knows how to get the best out of players and he is a winner, note his outstanding domestic record as a leader.” (ANI)