SYDNEY - Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq said Monday he will lead the side in the third Test against Australia in Sydney, dismissing suggestions he is about to retire.
Misbah, 42, raised the possibility following his team’s abject innings defeat in the second Melbourne Test last week to lose the series, when he said he would contemplate his future and may even retire before Tuesday’s final Test.
But Pakistan’s most successful skipper Monday appeared at the captain’s media conference before the Test to hose down speculation of his imminent retirement.
Misbah, who has scored a total of 20 runs in four innings in the series, said his comments after the innings and 18-run defeat in Melbourne were triggered by frustration.
“That was 2016 - now it’s 2017,” he told reporters. “That is gone, that is gone. You have to fight as a sportsman and that’s important for me also.
“I’m happy that I’ve got a very good family, all the team. The way they supported me (was appreciated).
“Everyone, from the support staff to the players - and they’re up for that (fight), so I’m also up. I need to play at my best.”
Misbah now concentrates only on Test cricket and retired from One-Day Internationals after Pakistan’s defeat to Australia in the World Cup quarterfinal in 2015.
After the Australia Test series Pakistan does not have any Tests scheduled until April, when it will tour the West Indies for a four-match series.
Misbah’s most immediate assignment after the Australia series will be in the United Arab Emirates in the Pakistan Super League with Islamabad United, which starts on Feb. 9.
Misbah opted against naming a final Test team Monday, admitting there could be changes after his side’s woeful last day in the Melbourne Test.
“Traditionally, Sydney is a bit different. It all depends on the final look of the pitch,” he said.
Australia holds an unassailable 2-0 lead in the Test series.
Heading into Sydney, Pakistan has not won a Test Down Under since its ‘dead rubber’ victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1995.
Australia out for sweep
Steve Smith’s sole aim will be to keep Australia in the winning habit.
With a first Test series win of the season already in the bag after the dramatic victory in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Australia has continued the reconstruction of its team ahead of February’s four-Test tour of India.
The recall of Steve O’Keefe for a twin-spin attack and inclusion of debutant batting all-rounder Hilton Cartwright gives Australia the look of a team getting an early start on preparations for a tour of the subcontinent.
“The selectors probably have an eye on India and the guys that are a possibility to be there,” Smith told reporters Monday. “(But) you can’t think too far ahead. The conditions are completely different, it’s a
different kind of spin that you get out here compared to India.
“We’re just focused on this Test match at the moment, hopefully we can have a clean sweep.”
Head groundsman Tom Parker has promised a bit of traditional SCG turn, which is good news for O’Keefe and off-spinner Nathan Lyon but might also provide fitting conditions for Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah to show the full range of his powers.
