Misbah-ul-Haq announces retirement from international cricket

Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan is shown during a nets session at Dubai International Cricket Ground on October 12, 2016. Francois Nel / Getty Images

Pakistan test captain Misbah-ul-Haq will quit international cricket after the three-Test series in West Indies beginning later this month, the veteran batsman announced on Thursday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) put Misbah in charge of the Test team for the three matches in West Indies on Wednesday with chairman Shaharyar Khan making it clear that it would be the last series for the player, who turns 43 next month.

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■ Analysis: Misbah took Pakistan from nadir to great heights

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“It will be my last series and I had conveyed this to the chairman (Pakistan Cricket Board) quite some time ago,” Misbah told reporters at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

“I will try to finish it on a high note ...There was no pressure on me,” Pakistan’s most successful Test captain said, adding he initially wanted to quit after the 2015 series against England in the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan won 24 of its 53 Test matches under Misbah and, for the first time, occupied the top Test rankings last year before a dip in form set in.

Pakistan suffered six consecutive Test defeats and lost series in New Zealand and Australia, which triggered speculation about Misbah’s future as the Test captain.

Admired for his unflappable temperament in a Pakistan dressing room teeming with mercurial talents, Misbah was handed the Test captaincy after a 2010 spot-fixing scandal in England which led to a ban on, among others, predecessor Salman Butt.

Since his 2001 Test debut in New Zealand, Misbah has gone on to make 4,951 runs from 72 matches at a 45-plus average.

The top order batsman also played 162 one-dayers before quitting the format after the 2015 World Cup.

* Reuters

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