Misbah unlikely to feature in second Test

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq is unlikely to play in the second Test against New Zealand as he travels home to attend to a family issue.

Misbah will leave New Zealand on Sunday evening, after hearing news that his father-in-law passed away in Pakistan.

"We just found out about it this morning and he and his wife are leaving for Pakistan in the evening on a 6.00pm flight,” a Pakistan team official told cricket.com.au.

New Zealand completed the victory during the second session of day four and the teams now head to Hamilton where the second and last match of the series starts on Friday. 

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Although there are still five days before the start of the next Test it is doubtful that Misbah will be able to return to Hamilton in time because of the long distance and no direct flight operating between New Zealand and Pakistan. 

Passengers from Pakistan usually fly to New Zealand via the United Arab of Emirates or Thailand and, knowing that the journey takes 20-24 hours, it remains to be seen whether Misbah will be able to take part in the second Test even if he makes it to Hamilton a day before the Test. 

“We are not sure if he will be able to play in Hamilton,” a Pakistan team official said.

Misbah missed the national T20 Cup in Rawalpindi and Multan in September this year due to the illness of his father-in-law. He was supposed to represent the Karachi Whites in the tournament. 

Misbah has previously made mention of the fact he has struggled to deal with the being apart from his family.

"I can only see my mother once in a year, my sister once in a year and some of my friends, I could not see for three of four years because we are playing all of our games out of our country," he said in August.

Since taking the charge of the Test team in October 2010, Misbah has missed just one Test, against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2012, where he was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to slow over-rate in the ODI series that preceded the Tests. 

After the Galle Test, he captained the team in 35 consecutive matches which is a Pakistan record and this week in Christchurch he became the first Pakistan player to play 50 Tests as captain of which he has won 24 making him the most successful captain of the country. 

Soon after the New Zealand series, Pakistan will head to Australia for a three-Test series commencing with a pink-ball day-night match in Brisbane from December 15. 

Pakistan will be wanting Misbah to join the team as soon as possible as he has played a vital role in the country’s elevation to the top tier in the ICC Rankings with his leadership as well as his batting.

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