Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakistan|Middle order Batter
Misbah-ul-Haq
INTL CAREER: 2001 - 2017
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Full Name

Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi

Born

May 28, 1974, Mianwali, Punjab

Age

49y 296d

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Legbreak

Playing Role

Middle order Batter

The most remarkable aspect about Misbah-ul-Haq is his unflappable temperament. It shows in his batting, which reached unprecedented levels of consistency in 2011, and in his captaincy, which helped lift Pakistan from the depths of the spot-fixing saga in England in 2010. Taking over as leader immediately after that episode at the age of 36, Misbah's calm approach was exactly what Pakistan cricket needed after the tumultuous period it had gone through.

As a batsman, Misbah can either defend dourly with unflagging patience, or irritate bowlers with his improvisations. It helps that his defensive technique is sound: that solid foundation has helped him bat for long periods in Test cricket. That aspect of his game was in evidence right from his first Test innings in 2001, when he survived over two hours to score 28 in Auckland. He should have played much more international cricket thereafter, but was held back by his inconsistency. For four years between 2003 and 2007, he didn't play a single Test, and only turned up for a handful of ODIs.

However, a run-filled domestic season, followed by club cricket in England and Inzamam's retirement from ODIs, prompted the board to award Misbah a central contract in July 2007. A month later, he was surprisingly picked, ahead of Mohammad Yousuf, for the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. He repaid the selectors' faith by finishing the tournament as Pakistan's best player and nearly taking them to victory in the final. He continued the good run on the tour to India later that year, scoring two hundreds, each of which spanned more than 400 minutes.

However, it was in 2011 that Misbah truly rose above the crowd and established his credentials as a top-class batsman and a leader of men. He was in charge when Pakistan completed one of their greatest Test series wins - a 3-0 sweep over the then No. 1 side, England in early 2012. Perhaps it's his degree in business management that has helped him manage, and get the best out of, a team as unpredictable as Pakistan.
ESPNcricinfo staff

Misbah-ul-Haq Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAveBFSR100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests75132205222161*46.621172644.53103951181500
ODIs16214931512296*43.40694573.7504234283660
T20Is39341378887*37.52715110.20034526140
FC242399471713928448.69--43101--2040
List A292267559941129*46.89--1170--1280
T20s162141383491107*33.892997116.48113226139650

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests75------------
ODIs162124300---7.50-000
T20Is39------------
FC242-32424631/2-82.004.55108.0-00
List A292-14417911/101/10179.007.45144.0000
T20s162------------
Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi

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Test
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Videos of Misbah-ul-Haq

Photos of Misbah-ul-Haq

A very lean, very mean Misbah-ul-Haq in action
Player of the Match Misbah-ul-Haq shares a moment with partner Tillakaratne Dilshan
Misbah-ul-haq scored an unbeaten 44 off 19 against World Giants
Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam and coach Misbah ul Haq walk off after play was suspended due to a wet patch
Misbah-ul-Haq talks to the players ahead of a training session ahead of the second T20I
Tabish Khan gets his Test cap from Misbah-ul-Haq