Sharjah: Replying to a comment by a senior member of the Pakistan cricket board who called him “a jackal” , Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said “If standing firm under pressure out in the middle and scoring runs makes you a jackal then I am a jackal.”
Under Misbah's captaincy Pakistan lost a test in Zimbabwe in September and were thumped 4-1 in the just-concluded one-day series in the United Arab Emirates.
This prompted a senior member of the Pakistan cricket board recently to say that one should not expect the team to win when a pack of lions was led by a “jackal”.
But Misbah ruled out stepping down as Pakistan cricket captain, saying “I have no intentions of quitting. I am doing well and as long as I am in form, I will continue to play for my country.”
He said that as far as captaincy is concerned, it is an honour to lead your country and in the end, the board takes a decision and that he has no issues with what they decide.
Misbah is the leading scorer in one-day internationals this year with 1119 runs from 26 matches but many, including former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, felt his batting lacked aggression and that he was uninspiring as a leader.
The right-hand batsman has a 73.39 strike rate in one day internationals but his critics believe it was not enough.
He insisted cricket was a team game and he alone could not be held responsible for recent debacles.
“Everyone has to contribute in cricket and one player cannot win you a match ... unfortunately our batting has struggled badly this year and it is something we need to work on,” Misbah said.
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