Wrong to blame only captain for team’s defeat, says Misbah

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Test cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Monday it is not fair to blame only the captain when the team loses.

Talking to the media here earlier today, the Test skipper said no team wins or loses solely because of their captain.

“The entire team as well as the management are also responsible for the performance,” Misbah said, adding that it is not fair to assign all the blame on the captain.

He said that everyone likes to take credit when the team wins but people blame only the captain when the team loses.

“This trend needs to stop,” said Misbah.

Discussing Pakistan’s dismal one-day ranking, he said that poor domestic cricket structure was to blame for the country’s ODI failings.

Pakistan are currently ranked world number one in Test cricket but are only barely afloat in ODIs with number nine position.

Misbah blamed this discrepancy on the dearth of one-day cricket at the domestic level, saying that one-day cricket was not given the attention it deserved.

He called for the need to promote one-day cricket at the domestic level, saying that more and more talented cricketers would come to the forefront if more one-day cricket is played domestically, which in turn would strengthen Pakistan’s ODI cricket team.

With 22 Test wins, Misbah-ul-Haq is the most successful Test captain in Pakistan cricket history. He will be presented with the ICC Test mace on September 21 as an official acknowledgment of Pakistan’s top ranking in Test cricket.