Misbah to play in BPL and domestic cricket to keep confidence intact
Misbah-ul-Haq was recently signed by Rangpur to play in the Bangladesh Premier League which starts from 22nd November. Misbah hasn’t played T20 since the time he stepped down as the captain of the national side in 2012. Misbah believes that he needs to be in touch so that he can prepare for the international test matches. He has been playing domestic T20s for a while.
Misbah recently led Pakistan to a victory against England in the two-match test series in UAE, Pakistan won the series 2-0. After this series, the 41-year-old Pakistani cricketer had plans to retire to which PCB reacted negatively and has asked him to postpone those retirement plans.
Misbah told Cricinfo, “I have signed with BPL, I want to carry on and keep myself motivated and maintain my fitness. So whatever cricket comes in I want to play to avoid being complacent."
Misbah will again lead the national side in 2016 when England host Pakistan. Until then, players other than Misbah will play plenty of one-day internationals, including the World T20 and the Asia cup. Misbah wants to keep himself busy and, therefore, will be eyeing the Quaid-E-Azam trophy, Pakistan’s First Class Tournament, and then the BPL.
The first class Pakistan season ends in February 2016 and the first test if England vs Pakistan will be 4 months away from it, and to keep himself occupied Misbah will look to get an English county contract.
After the England Test series, this is what Misbah had to say,” I love the game and want to play it, It's really difficult when you have not played any competitive cricket for six, seven, eight months and suddenly you come and play against top players. So this is a period you need to motivate yourself.”
“I can still play domestic cricket and be ready for that kind of challenge, but that's not easy. I have mentioned that before because after retiring from ODIs, I can feel that whenever the Tests come the first game is always difficult and the body mechanism is not working.”
“I feel that I am playing after a long time and it takes one or two innings to settle and if you are getting out early it could be horrible for you so these things are there so I am just trying to rethink and work out," he concluded.
The 41-year-old has always come to Pakistan’s rescue and it remains to be seen how much longer he can carry on that fighting spirit in himself. Domestic cricket will help him keep in touch with the game and help him gain confidence to for the upcoming England tour next year.