Misbah-ul Haq believes Pakistan bowlers face a big threat in the retiring Mahela Jayawardene during their two-match Test series beginning in Sri Lanka from Wednesday.

“If we are to win the series in Sri Lanka, we have to ensure that their top batsmen, particularly Jayawardene, are not allowed to get many runs,” the Pakistan captain said.

“I have a lot of respect for what he has achieved but we are going to Sri Lanka to win the two-Test series and we know how important it is for us to not allow their senior players to score,” Misbah (above) added.

The series will be Jayawardene’s last as he will be retiring from Tests. The 37-year-old veteran has scored 11,671 runs from 147 matches at an average of 50.09 with 34 centuries to boot.