Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq could have snapped up a two-year deal with the Division Two side but chose his national commitments instead.
Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain Misbah-ul-Haq has revealed that he could have spent the summer in England after being offered a lucrative two-year deal with County Championship side Worcestershire.
Misbah considered the offer but eventually turned it down, deciding it would compromise his national commitments.
After Worcestershire were relegated from Division One last season they were keen to bounce straight back to the top flight and felt a quality overseas player would be the key to that success.
Australian Phil Hughes played for the county in 2012 but when it became clear Hughes wouldn’t be returning for a second season the club opened talks with Misbah.
However, following lengthy discussions with the Pakistani skipper a deal did not come to fruition, despite Worcestershire apparently offering the batsman a significant sum for two seasons with the side.
“It was potentially a lucrative deal for me but it was actually clashing with my international commitment,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo.
“They actually offered me a two-year contract with an extension of one more year on mutual agreement.”
After failing to secure the Pakistani’s services Worcestershire turned to Sri Lanka batsman Thilan Samaraweera as their overseas player for the new County Championship season.
Samaraweera has over double the amount of experience of Misbah at Test level and the middle order batsman’s average of over 48 is actually better than that of the Pakistan captain.
Worcestershire drew their first Division Two match with Lancashire with the Sri Lankan making 28 on his debut.
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