SYDNEY - Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said Monday he will lead the side in the third Test against Australia in Sydney, dismissing suggestions he is about to retire.

Misbah, 42, raised the possibility following his team's abject innings defeat in the second Melbourne Test last week to lose the series, when he said he would contemplate his future and may even retire before Tuesday's final Test.

But Pakistan's most successful skipper on Monday appeared at the captain's media conference before the Test to hose down speculation of his imminent retirement. Misbah, who has scored a total of 20 runs in four innings in the series, said his comments after the innings and 18-run defeat in Melbourne were triggered by frustration.

"That was 2016 -- now it's 2017," he told reporters. "That is gone, that is gone. You have to fight as a sportsman and that's important for me also. I'm happy that I've got a very good family, all the team. The way they supported me (was appreciated). Everyone, from the support staff to the players -- and they're up for that (fight), so I'm also up. I need to play at my best."

Misbah said he was not thinking about the end of his international career that started in 2001, although well-placed sources said he would make the final decision about his playing status once he returns home to Pakistan.

Misbah now concentrates only on Test cricket and retired from one-day internationals after Pakistan's defeat to Australia in the World Cup quarter-final in 2015.

After the Australia Test series Pakistan do not have any Tests scheduled until April, when they will tour the West Indies for a four-match series. Misbah's most immediate assignment after the Australia series will be in the United Arab Emirates in the Pakistan Super League with Islamabad United, which starts on February 9. Misbah opted against naming a final Test team on Monday, admitting there could be changes after his side's woeful last day in the Melbourne Test. "Traditionally, Sydney is a bit different. It all depends on the final look of the pitch," he said.

Australia hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the Test series.  Heading into Sydney, Pakistan have not won a Test Down Under since their 'dead rubber' victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1995.

Left-arm spinner M Asghar could be in line for a debut in the third and final Test against Australia at the SCG, as Pakistan actively consider the option of playing two spinners.

The Sydney surface has traditionally been good for spin and is likely to be this year as well. Australia, with one eye on their tour of India, have already named two spinners in their XI- Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe.

Asghar, who will become the first Balochistan-born cricketer to play a Test match if he debuts, was called up to the squad initially as a back-up for Yasir Shah after the legspinner pulled up with a back injury ahead of the warm-up game in Cairns at the start of the tour.

On tour, he has impressed Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, a man not easily impressed by spinners. Misbah spoke in unusually glowing terms of Asghar's left-arm spin in private and did so publicly on Monday. "I'm really impressed by his bowling," Misbah said. "I've seen his temperament [at the Pakistan Super League] that was massive for him, big tournament. The way he handled pressure there. They used him in the circle against some of the most destructive batsman in the world. He bowled with a lot of control and courage. The way he's bowling in the nets, he's been tremendous. Even some of the best players of spin, they really rate him up. He's the one you can trust anytime."

Asghar came to national attention with Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL in February 2016, where he took 11 wickets; he has since evolved and on a Pakistan A tour of Zimbabwe in October, was the second-highest wicket-taker in the four-day matches.

"It can be an option," Misbah said. "It all depends on the final look of the pitch, how it comes up on the last day especially, before the start. It's not that if Australia have got two spinners then we have to also put two spinners. It's about how to think about the conditions and how we can strengthen our team. We'll definitely go for it if we think that this pitch is going to do a little bit for the spinners on the last day."