Zaheer Abbas wants Misbah to lead Pakistan till World Cup 2015

Karachi: After facing criticism from many quarters, Pakistan Test and one-day captain Misbah-ul-Haq is now getting some support as well with former skipper Zaheer Abbas backing him to lead the side till the 2015 World Cup.

"Give me on valid reason why Misbah is not fit to lead the team till the World Cup. He has been one of the fittest players in the national and he has been doing consistently well as a batsman. "He has also shown the patience and calibre to lead the side sensibly so I don`t see any reason Misbah shouldn`t be leading the team till the World Cup," Abbas, who is also the principal advisor on cricket to the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), told PTI. Pakistan`s most capped player, Inzamam-ul-Haq also this week backed the appointment of Misbah as captain for the World Cup saying he was the best choice. The former captain who earned the sobriquet "Asian Bradman" for his run scoring feats said this was the reason why the PCB chief had also publicly backed Misbah to lead the team till the World Cup. "In a major tournament like the World Cup you need to have an experienced captain who is also a good performer and Misbah fits both these roles," he added. Zaheer who was also chief consultant of the national team this year in the Asia Cup and World T20 in Bangladesh admitted Pakistan cricket faced some difficulties but said it was still capable of raising a strong side for the World Cup. "The challenge is not only to raise a strong outfit for the World Cup but to also do well in our test series against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand before the mega event," he said. Zaheer also praised Najam Sethi for signing the agreement with the Indian board to play six series in the next eight years. "People might say no one knows about Pakistan and India relations till the last moment but the fact is that it is a big achievement that Sethi convinced the Indians to enter into a formal agreement and hopefully if there is government support we will have these series on schedule as well," he added. He said it was important for Pakistan to play India regularly not only for the future of the sport in Pakistan but also to improve its financial health.