Misbah to play on 'as long as fitness allows'

Pakistan Test and one-day captain Misbah-ul Haq has expressed his determination to keep playing for his team as long as his fitness allows him, despite his presence becoming a debate at a time when many youngsters are knocking at the team's door for the 2015 World Cup.

Although former coach and chief selector Mohsin Khan believes that despite being the oldest in the team, Misbah is physically and mentally the fittest in the squad, however, many former cricketers feel that the veteran player should quit to pave the way for youngsters, the Express Tribune reports.

However, Misbah is not ready to draw lines on his career yet, saying that it is impossible to predict when he will be retiring, adding that at this point, he is just focusing on playing well in the ICC Champions Trophy and looking forward to do well for Pakistan.

Misbah also termed the first two games against West Indies and South Africa in the Champions Trophy as important as the much-anticipated clash with India, adding that the tours of Scotland and Ireland before the tournament helped the team to acclimatise to the cold conditions.

The captain hoped to witness a special performance by spinner Saeed Ajmal and reiterated the team's resolve to win the competition, saying that the confidence was high.

It has been a roller-coaster ride for the middle-order batsman - garnering fame for his impressive performance in the Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 as well as receiving severe criticism after he failed to guide the team to a win in the Mohali semi-finals against arch-rivals India in the 2011 World Cup, the report added.