Misbah-ul-Haq will be forever remembered by cricket fans for his audacious paddle-scoop that cost Pakistan the inaugural T20 World Cup against India. On that sad day, a legend was born. Though, Misbah has been castigated for his mistake from the fans, he never lost hope and determination to do best for his country.
Misbah first caught the attention of the selectors in 2002 when he made truckloads of runs in the domestic scene. He played well in the tri-nation tournament in Nairobi, but subsequently, his form deserted him and he was soon sidelined from the national side.
With the departure of Inzamam-ul-Haq, and with the solid weight of domestic and county runs behind his name, Misbah made another comeback into the national team in 2007.
He finished as Pakistan’s best player in the T20 World Cup in 2007 and carried that form to India, where he made a couple of hundreds and finished with 464 runs in the three-match Test series.
More than the number of runs, it was the cool and calm manner that he negotiated all that India threw at him that impressed everybody. Suddenly, he was proclaimed to to be the natural successor to Inzamam and a future captain.
The year 2008 began with some high points for Misbah as he was elevated to the post of vice – captain of the Pakistan team and was awarded a Grade A contract. But his form slumped dramatically and was axed from the side from all three formats of the game.
He didn’t feature in the disastrous trip to England in 2010 and was made captain of the Test side against South Africa in late 2010.
Misbah led the side to a 0-0 draw against the Proteas and then achieved a 1-0 series victory when Pakistan toured New Zealand in early 2011.
He was again roundly criticised for his painfully slow innings during the World Cup semi-final loss to India, but he chose not to respond to any of those criticisms.
After Shahid Afridi’s axing as the ODI skipper in 2012, he was named the captain of the Pakistan team, which completed a clean sweep (3-0) against the then No.1 Test side England.
Misbah had a fantastic 2012-13 domestic season. He led his team, the Faisalabad Wolves, to the T20 Championship title and they also qualified for the Champions League T20.
Under his able leadership, they won all the domestic tournaments (Twenty20, First-Class and list-A) in the season 2012-13. During that time, he also led his country to a famous ODI series victory against their arch-rivals India.
Misbah’s captaincy came under serious scrutiny after Pakistan lost the ODI series against South Africa in the UAE. However, the PCB backed him and declared him to be the captain until the 2015 World Cup. Pakistan took their revenge against the Proteas by churning out a brilliant performance in South Africa soon after.
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Pakistan took the series 2-1, becoming the first sub-continent team to beat South Africa in a bilateral ODI series in their own den. This historic win won Misbah many accolades across the country.
Pakistan replicated their strong performance against Sri Lanka, winning the ODI series comfortably and squaring the Test series 1-1, where Misbah played a crucial role in the third Test. He was a stand-out performer in 2013, scoring over 1,000 runs in a calendar year. That transformed him from a Test captain to a Test Hero.
There was always a cloud hanging around Misbah’s captaincy, let it be for being criticised after not winning the 2014 Asia Cup final, or the first two ODIs against Australia in the UAE.
Misbah even sat out of the third game against Australia, just to take a break and to think about his future. All the questions were answered, when he led Pakistan to a 2-0 Test series win against Australia and levelled the Test series 1-1 versus New Zealand.
In third Test match against Australia, he joined the record of fastest Test hundred with Sir Vivien Richards hitting a Test ton on 56 balls, and washed away the ‘tuq tuq’ tag forever. He has most Test sixes as a captain in the longer format.
Although, under him, Pakistan lost the ODI series to the Black Caps, the selectors showed faith in him and named as the skipper for the upcoming World Cup. As soon as the squad was announced for the 2015 World Cup, Misbah decided that he will retire after the mega-event.
This is what he had to say, \\”It would be icing on the cake if I retire with a World Cup win and I will do my best to do that. I’ve thought about this for a long time. The World Cup is an important event and I want to finish on a winning note.\\”
Interesting fact: Misbah has a Masters Degree in Business Administration
Misbah went past Wasim Akram, becoming the player to have the most ODI runs to his name without scoring a century.
Misbah also is the most successful Pakistan Test captain, he went past Imran Khan, who had 13 wins under his name.
Misbah equalled the record for the fastest hundred in Tests, he scored that ton in 56 balls and now jointly holds the record along with Sir Viv Richards. The feat was achieved against Australia at Abu Dhabi.
Misbah has record of most sixes a Test captain.
Misbah stands fifth in the list of most Test fifties as a captain.
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