LAHORE  - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has no plans to strip Misbah-ul-Haq of the captaincy in any format of the sport in the near future, in the wake of ODI series whitewash against England.
"Misbah is going to be retained as captain for the Asia Cup and they are no immediate plans to sack him as captain of the one-day or T20 squads," a senior official of the board said. He also ruled out any major overhaul in the national selection committee before the Asia Cup. "All this talk about Misbah being replaced as captain for limited overs cricket is not correct. So far he is captain for all three formats and this issue is not even on the agenda of the Governing board meeting that is due to be held on March 1," the official said.
He said the performance of the team, captain or selection committee was not on the agenda of the Governing board which would mostly deal with passing the audited budget report of last fiscal year, release of funds for under construction projects and the Woolfe report on the governance of the International Cricket Council. "If any member wants to discuss the team performance or related issue that can be done but it is not on the agenda," the official said. He said reports that the national selection committee would be changed after the England series were not correct.
"Only the coaching staff will be changed before the Asia Cup that is decided. The rest will remain the same. Then it is up to the Chairman of the board to decide what he wants to do after the Asia Cup," the official said.
Misbah lashed out at some sections of the Pakistani media in Dubai on Friday at a press conference and blamed them for creating conspiracy theories about him being changed as captain for the Asia Cup.
The Pakistan captain who saw his team whitewashed in the one-day series by England was critical of the media`s role in hitting the team`s morale and advised them to back the players instead of creating controversies.
The official who did not want to be named said Australian Dav Whatmore would reach Lahore around March 2 to take charge of the team which will leave for Bangladesh on the 7th for the Asia Cup tournament.
"As far as the present coach, Mohsin Khan is concerned no decision has been taken on his future in the board. But on our payroll he still remains the chief selector so he could get his job back or be given another assignment by the board," the official added.