PCB chief backs 'impressive' Misbah to continue as captain of Pak ODI squad

The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dismissed speculations of Misbah-ul-Haq being replaced as captain of the one-day side by making it clear that the veteran batsman would remain at the helm because of his impressive record.

Speculations have been rife that the present team management is more in favour of having Shahid Afridi as captain of the ODI squad before the next international assignments of the team, starting from October when Pakistan hosts Australia in the UAE.

According to The Nation, however, Sethi backed Misbah, saying that the senior player has the better record compared to others and as such, he will continue to remain as captain, although he acknowledged talk that Afridi could be a better choice because of his more pro-active captaincy.

Sethi further said that Misbah has done a good job of handling the team in tough times for Pakistan cricket, adding that in the future, the board will give six month contracts because they want to assess performance of players in this period, beginning with the World T20.

The report said that the central contract carries a monthly salary of between 250,000 to 340,000 rupees for the players besides their usual match and tour fees and other sponsorship and bonus amounts.

Sethi also said that players would now have to give their best to get contracts, adding that that the new selection committee has drawn up a plan to prepare the team and a pool of players for the World Cup in 2015 once the current World twenty20 tournament is over.