Misbah told to continue leading Test team: Sources

Karachi: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been told to continue to lead the Test side till the cricket Board grooms a successor, according to sources.

Misbah, 40, announced his retirement from one-day cricket after the World Cup but said he wanted to continue to play Test matches.

"When he met PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan last week in Lahore, he (Misbah) offered to step down as captain so that the Board could announce a new captain but he was told to continue leading the Test side," an official source in the Board told PTI.

"The Board's vision is to have Misbah leading the Test side with Azhar Ali as his deputy until the home series against England and India late this year in the UAE," the source said.

Since his return home from the World Cup, Misbah has become a regular feature on different television channels and his main grouse has been that he and the team have been subjected to unfair criticism by some former player-turned-pundits and the media.

In his latest interview on a channel, Misbah was again at the former players and media blaming them for hitting below the belt and demoralizing the team.

"There should be criticism but confined to cricket matters. What has hurt has been the sort of crude and offensive language used by some of the former players on television and the fun made of us in the media. These people need to realize we are human beings and have families who are disturbed by such things," Misbah said.

The normally soft spoken Misbah said some of the comments aimed at him were purely of personnel nature and not limited to his cricketing abilities.

"The impression created was that I was responsible for all the ills facing Pakistan cricket. Even if I scored runs it was not good for the team. I think we need to change our attitude towards cricket and be more constructive and positive."