Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq has backtracked on his agreement to be a mentor with Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), because he wants to play in the 2019 season, according to the franchise on Monday. Misbah is likely to be picked by Peshawar Zalmi in the Gold category. Islamabad said it had reached an agreement with Misbah, 44, in the lead up to the PSL player draft on November 20, but he had changed his mind and did not want to be just a mentor. Before changing his decision, Misbah reportedly offered Islamabad — his former franchise — his services as a player but the franchise was not keen. Misbah played eight matches for Islamabad in the 2018 PSL and batted only four times — making 57 runs at a strike-rate of 75. He has not played T20 cricket since March this year.

“Islamabad United, the winners of the inaugural HBL PSL and the defending PSL champions, would like to update our fans that Misbahul Haq might not be a part of the franchise in the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League, due to a late change of decision,” the franchise said. “In the weeks leading up to the draft, Islamabad United had reached an agreement with Misbahul Haq regarding his appointment as the mentor of the franchise for PSL 4 and the editions going forward. This is in line with ISLU’s ethos of developing and nurturing not only emerging players but also senior players as they move to the next phase of their careers. ISLU was hence delighted to receive the written confirmation to this affect.”
“Despite having reached that agreement the franchise was informed yesterday that Misbah wished to stay in the player draft for PSL4 for consideration as an active player. As Islamabad United has already announced its retentions and has a specific strategy for the draft, picking Misbah as a player may not be possible for the franchise. While this is an unexpected turn of events, we respect Misbah’s decision and would like to thank him for invaluable contribution to the rise of ISLU, and would like to wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

On November 20, the six PSL franchises will gather in Islamabad to pick players and complete their squads ahead of the 2019 season, which is scheduled to begin on February 14 in Dubai. Last week, the teams had finalised which players had been retained from the 2018 squads and which players had been let go.

Published in Daily Times, November 20^th 2018.