Misbah hits out at captaincy critics

We cannot improve if we continuously ask for captains and teams to be replaced after losing one series" Misbah-ul-Haq

MISBAH -UL-HAQ has led an impassioned defence of his captaincy and urged the media not to destabilise Pakistan cricket by pursuing "their own agendas".

What should have been a moment of celebration for Misbah and his team was soured when Pakistan's captain was asked about his own position in the press conference following victory over England in the first of three Twenty20 internationals.

It is not hard to understand why Misbah might have been irritated. He assumed the captaincy of Pakistan in late 2010 with the team disgraced and defeated. Not only that, but he was denied some of the nation's best players due to their involvement in the spot-fixing controversy.

He responded better than most could have dreamed possible. Not only did Misbah restore the good reputation of Pakistan cricket on the pitch, he has done so off it, too.

He has led Pakistan to five Test series victories out of seven - the other two series were drawn - including the recent 3-0 whitewash of England, the No. 1-ranked Test team. On Thursday he led Pakistan to victory over the No.1-rated T20 team in world cricket and afterwards vented his frustration at the media - and the Pakistan media in particular - who seem to want Shahid Afridi restored as captain.

"Even after when we won the Test matches, I continuously told the media we should be patient and consider the realities," Misbah said. "We go on to discuss things that don't need to be discussed - when we perform badly we should talk about that, we should talk about weak areas in the team. People in the media make comments based on furthering their own agendas, not ground realities. This needs to stop; the media should think positively.