Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah was initially noticed for his technique and his temperament in the Tri-nation tournament in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, as he scored two fifties in the three innings in which he played, however, over the next three Tests he played against Australia, he failed to score more than twenty runs and was soon dumped from the team.Misbah was one of the stars of the tournament, playing a large part in many thrilling run chases. The first was in the group stage against India where he scored a half century in a tied match. He was run out attempting the winning run off the last ball of the match. In their Super 8s encounter with Australia he was named Man of the Match with an unbeaten 66 off 42 deliveries to see his side home with 5 balls to spare. Another unbeaten innings in the semi final against New Zealand saw Pakistan book a spot in the final against India.Misbah was dropped from the team after the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 and missed the team's controversial tour of England in August 2010^[1] Due to the batting-collapses that Pakistan suffered during that tour Misbah was recalled for the subsequent tour against South Africa in the UAE to lead as a captain of the team for test series. Many people expressed there surprise at the appointment of Misbah as captain. Wasim Akram stated that although the decision was surprising if Misbah bats and fields well everything else will go according to plan.^[2] Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson stated that he believed Misbah has the best cricketing brain within Pakistan and he will do incredibly well in the plans for the captaincy ^[3] Misbah hit back at those who criticised the decision to appoint him captain and stated that he should be given a chance to prove himself ^[4] In his first match as test captain he set an example for his team when he scored 71* in a 168 run partnership with Younus Khan this helped Pakistan salvage a draw from the match