12 Jan 2015

Pakistan's Misbah to retire after World Cup

11:46 am on 12 January 2015

Pakistan's long-serving captain Misbah-ul-Haq has announced he will retire from one-day internationals and T20 cricket after the World Cup.

Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq batting.

Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq batting. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The 41-year-old wants to focus on Test cricket and feels the timing is right to leave ODI cricket after the World Cup. He says test cricket remains the ultimate test for him he's looking forward to the series against England and India this year.

Misbah became Pakistan's most successful test captain in the recent series against New Zealand in the UAE.

He was appointed test captain in late 2010 after the spot fixing scandal in England led to Salman Butt being banned.

The board also handed Misbah the ODI and T20 captaincy in mid-2011 after Shahid Afridi was sacked as captain of limited overs cricket.

In 2012 he was removed as T20 captain but continued to feature in domestic T20 matches.

Since his debut for Pakistan in 2002, Misbah has played 153 ODIs and scored 4,669 runs at an average of 42.83 with 37 fifties.

He has led Pakistan in 78 games, with a more than 50 percent success rate.

The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan says Misbah has been a big source of inspiration for the Pakistan team since the spot fixing scandal.

Flamboyant allrounder Shahid Afridi last month also announced his plans to retire from ODIs after the World Cup and focus on T20.