Misbah-ul-Haq

Name: Misbah-ul-Haq

Birth date: 1974-05-28

Hometown: Mianwali

Teams: Pakistan, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Khan Research Labs, Sargodha

Debut: 8th Mar 2001

ODI Best: 79*

Test Best: 161*

Despite being a heavyweight run scorer n the domestic scene in Pakistan, Misbah ul Haq smply couldn’t break into a team boasting a mid order of Inzamam, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.

A brief, and disppointing flirtation with the Pakistan team in a number of low level tournaments in 2002 resulting in him being dropped. When another opportunity arose against Australia, he disappointed again in the test series, failing to live up to his promise and that sealed his fate – it should have been the end of his international career.

But Misbah is a fighter. He returned to domestic cricket, enjoying a prolific 2006-7 and this coincided with Pakistan’s humiliation in the 2007 World Cup, Inzamam’s retirement from cricket and and a successful stint in English Club Cricket.

At the age of 33 years old, Misbah was back – he was awarded a PCB Contract, and in another stroke of fortune, he was drafted in to replace Mohammad Yousuf for the World T20 Championship, held in South Africa.

He was one of the sensations of tournament – a super-cool individual, who virtually single-handedly guided Pakistan to the final with some truly amazing innings.

Whilst the final will be remembered for ‘that shot’ at the end of the game, Misbah was 1 shot away from taking Pakistan to World T20 glory.

He appears unfazed and unflappable out in the middle – reminiscent of the man he has replaced in the squad, and this temperament has seen him establish himself as one of Pakistan’s premier batsman.

The renaissance of Misbah ul Haq has been extraordinary – He is ‘Mr Dependable!, and is making the best use of his new found opportunity.

He now boasts an impressive Test and ODI record, with 2 scintillating test centuries against India in 2007, and was rewarded with the Pakistani Vice-Captaincy.

However the year 2009 was a tough one for Misbah and he had a tough time in all versions of the game. In 13 matches he averaged 33 at a slow strike rate of 65 and in Tests his average was a poor 28. With youngsters such as Fawad Alam and Umar Akmal starting to deliver, Misbah’s work will be cut out to further his career

An educated man, he is widely respected amongst his peers for calming influence within a team known for its instability.

Now hes is captain of pakistani cricket team and hoping for victory for pakistan in future......