Misbah-ul-Haq has stepped down from his role as the chief selector of the Pakistan men’s team, and will focus on coaching duties alone.
Misbah, the former captain, took over the dual role for Pakistan in September last year, being in charge of both selecting and coaching the team. He was appointed coach with a three-year tenure, a few months after the team, under Mickey Arthur, missed out on a semi-final spot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Misbah said he had been feeling pressure in his bid to conduct both responsibilities. His decision may also have been influenced by PCB’s new code of ethics ratified in July 2020, which aims to put greater emphasis on resolving issues of conflict of interest.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the dual roles but after reviewing the past 12 months and looking ahead at the workload in the next 24 months of my tenure, it is appropriate that I invest and dedicate all my time, energy and attention to one role from now on,” he said.
A PCB release stated that a new chief selector will take over responsibilities on 1 December, until which point Misbah will continue to perform the role.
The mission now is to guide Pakistan into the top three in every format.
Pakistan have had mixed results under Misbah’s coaching tenure so far, winning seven of their 19 matches since he took over and losing nine. Perhaps the most surprising result was the 3-0 loss at home to Sri Lanka in T20Is soon after he took over. They have shown encouraging signs more recently, drawing their away T20I series against a dominant England side 1-1. They lost a Test on that tour by a slim margin and drew the other two games.
Misbah now aims to build on the base to help Pakistan scale into the top three of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Team Rankings in each of the three formats.
“I’m satisfied with the manner in which the team is progressing. A lot of players have come into the setup and sealed spots. The mission now is to guide Pakistan into the top three in every format.” (ICC)