LAHORE: Islamabad United will be under a new head coach in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 after the franchise announced it was parting ways with former captain and Head Coach Misbah ul Haq.
According to a statement issued today (Thursday), the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise said that Misbah’s contract, which had expired earlier, will not be renewed due to the latter’s commitment with the national team.
The seasoned cricketer — who stepped down as the chief selector earlier in October— was the captain of two IU teams that had won the league in 2016 and 2018. He was appointed head coach of the franchise in Dec 2019.
The franchise also thanked the cricketer for his association with the franchise and wished him the best in his current role with the national team.
#ISLU will not be renewing @captainmisbahpk’s already expired head coach contract given his commitments with the National team. We thank him for his great contribution to ISLU. We wish him the very best of luck with the ???????? National Team.
PR: https://t.co/Ql6N1ex8zt#UnitedWeWin pic.twitter.com/n4eOEDqZjY
— Islamabad United (@IsbUnited) December 24, 2020
Commenting on the news, Misbah said that he had an attachment to IU and the relationships built over the past five years. “However, with back to back World T20s coming up, I want to focus on the PSL from a purely neutral perspective.”
“For anyone involved in Pakistani cricket, their national commitments should always be the priority, and for that I believe I will have to sacrifice my franchise commitments,” he said in comments posted to the franchise’s website.
Thank you @isbunited for 4 wonderful seasons. Best of luck for PSL 6. An amazing franchise, thank you to the owners, management and players. #UnitedWeWin
— Misbah Ul Haq (@captainmisbahpk) December 24, 2020
Meanwhile, Ali Naqvi, the owner of the franchise, said, “Misbah has been an integral part of IU since being picked in the draft of PSL Season 1 in December 2015, and has been instrumental in making us the most successful team of the league.
On behalf of #ISLU, I would like to thank Misbah for his immense contribution to the team. He captained us to 2 PSL trophies & was a mentor/coach in all seasons. We wish him the best in his professional as well as personal life. #Kaptaan, you’ll be #RedForever #UnitedWeWin ???????? pic.twitter.com/n1u2b0fUiI
— Ali Naqvi (@AliNaqvi808) December 24, 2020
“[The team] will miss his experience, guidance and wisdom but we respect the constraints of the PCB’s new rules and his commitments to the national side. We wish him the best in his professional as well as personal life,” he added.
