Misbah mulls retirement plans

Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Friday he was mulling retirement after the upcoming Pakistan-England series, saying he hoped to leave the game on a high.

The 41-year-old said the series against England "could be my last".

"I haven't taken a final decision," Misbah told media on the sidelines of a training camp in Lahore, adding that he was considering his options.

Misbah retired from Twenty20 cricket in 2012 and left the one-day international game after Pakistan's quarter-final finish in the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in March.

He said he wanted to leave Test cricket with "good memories".

"People remember your final performance," he said.

The unassuming middle-order batsman will be remembered for his admirable leadership of Pakistan in the aftermath of the 2010 spot-fixing scandal which resulted in five-year bans for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.

Last month Misbah had announced he would retire after an upcoming series against India, but the December-January contest is currently in doubt.

Pakistan take on the Ashes-winning England team in a three-Test series in the United Arab Emirates starting in Abu Dhabi from October 13.

Misbah warned the conditions in the UAE would be challenging for England.

"This English team has done well in the Ashes," he said.

"But they do not have experience of UAE conditions and that will be a big challenge for them."

Misbah also said he did not believe Pakistan would miss Saeed Ajmal, who took 24 wickets in three Tests against England in 2014, after the spinner was dropped following the remodelling of his once-illegal action.

"Shah and Babar are doing extraordinarily well and that's a big plus, so they haven't made us feel anyone's absence," Misbah said.