Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sought to end the controversy surrounding the captaincy of the national team when it released a statement on behalf of all-rounder Shahid Afridi, in which he pledged full support to Misbah-ul-Haq declaring him best man to lead in World Cup.

The board said in a late night release that Afridi wanted to clarify his position with regard to certain comments attributed to him on the captaincy issue. "Let me state at the very outset, Misbah is the best choice as Pakistan captain for the ICC World Cup 2015. I have always backed him to the optimum whenever I have played under him, just as he had when I had the honour to captain the Pakistan team," Afridi stated in a media release.