Misbah-Ul-Haq says he will assess his fitness in the PSL before deciding whether to go to West Indies

What’s the story?

Pakistan skipper Misbah-Ul-Haq has said that he will assess his level of fitness ahead of the West Indies tour in May, before taking a call on whether to proceed with the side for the series or not.

“Age does not matter [in sports]; it is the level of physical fitness which helps you to continue playing, and I will not announce my retirement at this stage. First, I will assess my fitness in the [coming] PSL and then in domestic matches for Faisalabad which are to be held before the West Indies tour,” Misbah told reporters on Friday.

“After checking my fitness level as to where I stand, I will make up my mind about my [playing] future,” he added.

In case you didn’t know...

Following Pakistan’s 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Australia in their own backyard, there has been constant talk over whether the 42-year-old should continue to lead Pakistan in the longer format or not.

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell was particularly scathing in his comments when he said that Misbah should not have led the side in the final Test of that series in Sydney and labelled his leadership as ‘ordinary’ and his batting as ‘horrible’.

The heart of the matter

Misbah's contribution, in particular as a leader in the past 12 months have been critical to Pakistan ascending to the top of the Test rankings. The team under him have dominated the scene in their home base of UAE and put in a more than commendable performance against England in the Old Blighty last year.

However, the team just could not stand and deliver neither in Australia nor in New Zealand before that and hence, the call for his sacking as captain only grew louder.

What’s next?

Regardless of whether Misbah plays another Test or not, it can be said that the board and the management have shown little or no interest in looking for the next leader in the group.

Sarfaraz Khan was identified as someone who could take the team forward, however, he is yet to be given complete control of the side in the all the three formats.

Sportskeeda’s take

The decision on whether Misbah should continue captaining of even playing for Pakistan should be his own. The 42-yer-old has played a key role in taking the side to great heights and for that reason solely, he should be allowed to leave on his own terms.