Pakistan’s most successful Test captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, parted ways with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) just hours after the management sacked Sarfaraz Ahmed as head coach and Umar Gul as fast-bowling coach, and sent seven players home, including former captain Mohammad Rizwan and T20I captain Salman Ali Agha.

Apart from being appointed a selector in March, Misbah had been working as a batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore since last year. He was initially appointed as a mentor for one of the five sides that participated in the Champions Cup, a PCB project that was shelved within five months in 2024.

Neither Misbah nor the PCB has given a reason for his resignation. The board, as in the case of the controversy surrounding Imam-ul-Haq’s calf injury, has also not confirmed whether it has formally accepted or rejected the resignation.

The Misbah resignation story gathered further momentum on Tuesday morning when it emerged that the PCB had asked the men’s national selection committee to explain and justify the selections of Imam and Rizwan for the England tour within 24 hours.

“As advised by the Competent Authority, you (national selectors) are hereby requested to provide a written explanation regarding the basis and rationale for the selection of the two said players (Imam and Rizwan), including the relevant selection criteria, performance considerations and any other factors taken during the selection process.

“You are hereby directed to submit your written explanation to the PCB within twenty-four (24) hours of the receipt of the Notice,” the PCB letter, sent to the selectors on August 31, stated.

Apart from Misbah, Aqib Javed, Asad Shafiq and Sarfaraz are members of the selection committee. Aqib is with the PCB management in London, Asad was replaced by Mike Smith as batting coach after the West Indies tour, while Sarfaraz is understood to be in England with his family on holiday.

With neither Misbah nor the PCB providing an official explanation, speculation has inevitably centred on whether his resignation was linked to disagreement over the dismissal of two distinguished former Pakistan cricketers, the decision to send seven players home, or the PCB’s demand for an explanation over the selections of Imam and Rizwan.

According to Article 2(g) of the PCB Constitution 2014, the PCB chairman has the sole authority to “approve and finalise the cricket teams selection by the selection committees”.

Misbah, a PCB Hall of Famer, is Pakistan’s most successful Test captain. He led the side in 56 Tests, winning 26, and is the only Pakistan captain to have led the team in at least 50 Tests.

He also captained Pakistan in 87 ODIs, including at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015, and eight T20Is. As a batsman, he scored 5,122 runs in 162 ODIs — the most by any player in men’s ODI cricket without scoring a century — including 42 half-centuries.

In 2016, under Misbah’s captaincy, Pakistan topped the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings for the first time since their inception in June 2003.

As a player, Misbah featured in three ICC Men’s T20 World Cups, helping Pakistan reach the final in 2007 before winning the title in England in 2009. He also played 15 matches across the 2011 and 2015 World Cups.

Misbah took over as head coach of the Pakistan men’s team, with additional responsibility as chief selector, from Mickey Arthur after the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. He stepped down from both positions in September 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.