Misbah-ul-Haq quits as PCB chief selector after admitting to 'pressure' in fulfilling duty

On Wednesday, October 14, former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq stepped down from the post of the chief selector for the national team. He will, however, continue to carry out his duties as the head coach of Pakistan cricket team. Misbah-ul-Haq, who has been handling the dual role since his appointment by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in September 2018, said that the decision to step down from the post was because he wanted to focus more on his role as a head coach.

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Misbah-ul-Haq on stepping down as Pakistan Cricket's chief selector

In his statement, Misbah-ul-Haq said that he thoroughly enjoyed the dual role but after reviewing the past 12 months and looking ahead at Pakistan cricket's workload in the next 24 months it was time for him to invest and dedicate all his time, energy and attention to one role. Speaking about his passion for coaching, Misbah-ul-Haq said that his ultimate objective remains to contribute to the development of players and help the side achieve bigger success.

While clarifying his decision to resign, the 46-year-old said that he held meetings with the High-Performance staff and Cricket Association coaches in the last two weeks, which gave him the belief of a strong domestic system in place, and also provided him with clarity regarding his decision.

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Misbah-ul-Haq further said that with the new Cricket Association system in full flow, the chief selector has to be able to watch as much domestic cricket as possible. He added that the decision to step down was mutual and there is a need for him now to be fully focused on one role. The head coach stated that he is looking forward to a strong working relationship with the new chairman of the selection committee with the hope of achieving success collectively.

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Pakistan Cricket's next assignments under Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq will carry out selection duties until the new chief selector takes over from December 1. Pakistan's next series is a three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe at home which begins on October 30 following which they will tour New Zealand for three T20Is and two Tests in December-January. Misbah-ul-Haq will handle the selection of teams for both these series while the new chief selector's first assignment will be to select the teams for the home series against South Africa in January, which includes two Tests and three T20Is.

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PCB unhappy with Misbah-ul-Haq meeting PM Imran Khan

Along with Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq recently met Pakistan PM Imran Khan to discuss the revival of departmental cricket in the country. According to arysports.tv, sources said that top PCB officials are set to meet Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali next week, where they will question them about the meeting with Imran Khan. Besides Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan cricket board chief Ehsan Mani and CEO Wasim Khan also met Imran Khan to discuss cricket-related matters.

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