India-Pakistan cricket impasse hurting fans and players, says Misbah

Pakistan’s Test captain admits political situation between the two countries has impacted cricketing ties between them.

Misbah-ul-Haq has never led Pakistan in a Test tour of India.

Pakistan’s Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has expressed disappointment at the absence of bilateral cricket ties with India. In an interview on Saturday, Misbah said he was against restrictions of any sort in sports.

“These restrictions are because of politics and political issues between Pakistan and India. But I don’t think this should be the case as cricketers and fans are deprived of good contests,” he said.

Misbah, 42, who has never led Pakistan in a Test series against India despite being captain since late 2010, does not believe the Indian team did not want to play against Pakistan. “They, like us, can’t do anything because there are other issues involved here. I am sure when things improve politically there will be cricket between Pakistan and India,” he added.

He pointed out that young players from both countries were not getting opportunities to get a feel of the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry, which helps them develop as players. “It is good that we now have our own league (like IPL) and it has been a major success in just two years. I am sure next year there will be more widespread interest in the Pakistan Super League from the people, sponsors and stakeholders.”

When asked to compare the IPL with PSL, Misbah said they were different leagues and that the Indian market for cricket was very different from Pakistan. “But I feel that since the IPL has now been there since 2007 (sic) people’s interest in it has dropped. I see more interest in our new league. There is always a saturation point for everything,” he said.