Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq bats at a training camp in Lahore yesterday. Misbah, who will retire from ODIs after the World Cup, has vowed to lead his team to title triumph. (AFP)


AFP/Lahore

Retiring Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq vowed yesterday to roll back the years and lead his team to victory in the World Cup starting in Australia and New Zealand next month.
Misbah, 40, on Sunday announced he would quit the one-day game after the mega event in February and March.
He is one year older than Imran Khan was when Pakistan won their only World Cup in 1992, an event also held in Australia and New Zealand.
“For me it will be a big motivation to give whatever I can, whether it’s physical, mental or skill-wise to finish on a high and do what the 1992 Pakistan team did—win the World Cup,” Misbah told reporters.
Pakistan start their campaign with a highly-charged opening game against arch-rivals and title-holders India.
They also face the West Indies, Zimbabwe, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Ireland in Group B, with the top four teams from two groups progressing to the quarter-finals.
Misbah said his players were “focused and determined” and he was confident they would adjust to the fast and bouncy Antipodean pitches.  
Misbah became Pakistan’s most successful Test captain with 15 wins last year, and has vowed to continue in the longer format. He has also led Pakistan in 78 one-day internationals with 41 wins, 34 losses and three ties or no results.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan paid tribute to Misbah. “We respect Misbah’s decision to retire,” Khan told reporters. “It’s sad that a player of his calibre will leave one-day cricket. “A mature and decent player like him is hard to find.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan team started their training camp yesterday in the eastern city of Lahore. A PCB official said all players of the 15-man squad have joined the camp. According to the schedule, the players would undergo physical training in the morning sessions at the National Cricket Academy and would work on their batting, bowling and fielding skills in the afternoon at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Motivational, anti-doping, anti-corruption and psychological lecturers would also be arranged for the players during the camp. The official said the board has advised the trainers and coaches to adopt precautionary measures to avoid injuries to the players during training.
The team will also hold a short training and conditioning camp in Sydney next month after playing a two-match ODI series against New Zealand on January 31 and February 3.
Before taking on arch-rivals India in the opening match of the World Cup on Feb 15, Pakistan will also play two warm-up matches against Bangladesh  on Feb 9 and and England on Feb 12.

Ajmal to have action reassessed in India
Suspended Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal will have his bowling action reassessed in India this month as he tries to make a comeback to international cricket, an official said yesterday.
The 37-year-old was ranked world number one in one-day internationals when his action was reported during the Galle Test in Sri Lanka in August last year. He was suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) a month later after a bio-mechanical analysis.
Ajmal last month withdrew from next month’s World Cup after failing to completely alter his action, leaving Pakistan’s bowling attack badly weakened.
Mohamed Akram, head coach of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s national academy, said Ajmal would travel to the Indian city of Chennai for a reassessment.
“Ajmal will have his bowling action reassessed in Chennai on January 24 and he as well as we are confident that he will clear the test,” Akram said.
Under ICC rules bowlers are allowed to bend their elbow by up to 15 degrees, beyond which the action is deemed illegal.
Ajmal, whose elbow flex reached 43 degrees, did remedial work under former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and had unofficial tests in England.
Pakistan also face a race against time in the case of all-rounder Mohamed Hafeez, whose action was reported last November before he was suspended.
Hafeez is included purely as a batsman in Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the February-March World Cup.