PAKISTAN’S most successful captain Misbah-ul-Haq has finally decided to hang up his boots at the end of the forthcoming Test series against the West Indies, to be played in the West Indies, quashing all rumours about his future in the game.

There is no doubt that after making this decision, Misbah will start the three-match Test series well in focus of the task ahead — to end his career on a high note — to match the standards that he set for himself and his team since he took over as captain back in 2010.

I covered his first tour with Pakistan to New Zealand and his Test debut in 2000-2001 where he scored 28 and 10 which remained his highest for the next four years till he was again considered good enough for international cricket and started to be amongst the runs.

But not until 2010 when he was put on the hot seat of captaincy for Pakistan that he really showed up as a leader of men with a certain charm and dignified disposition to become a much loved man at the helm. He excelled in man management, both on and off the field, having studied those skills at the Institute of Leadership and Management in Lahore to get an MBA.

For a lesser mortal, it would not have been an easy task to unite a team that was reeling under a nasty spot-fixing scandal and whose sagging morale and countless groupings marred its progress.

But Misbah, a cool, calculated and a calm individual, instilled a new spirit in the side and over the years groomed his men to become a cohesive, fighting unit. He brought the team into reckoning in the eyes of the cricketing world. He led from the front and by example and soon his team was striving to emulate him and began to listen to his philosophy and ideology which helped the players in regaining their self-belief.

His success with the bat and his winning record against top teams of the game such as Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England in home series away from home in the UAE and on a recent England tour speaks volumes of the man’s calibre and his strong-willed nature. His forthright approach and even his diplomacy won the hearts of Pakistan’s critics and fans.

Not surprisingly, therefore, he along with the prolific Younus Khan — another champion player — was named this week among the five cricketers of the year by Wisden Almanack — considered to be the bible of the game.

In difficult situations, Misbah stood up to the challenge and, in most cases, emerged a triumphant individual. There were people who at times admonished his style of batting not realising though that his brand of cricket for an unpredictable batting line-up often took the team ashore.

But when it mattered, he came out all guns blazing, equaling Sir Viv Richards’ fastest century record of 56 deliveries against Australia at Abu Dhabi, that was only recently overhauled by New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum in his brilliant 54-ball ton against Australia at Christchurch.

Misbah had recently admitted to my friend Richard Heller in a book published on Pakistan cricket ‘White on Green’ that ‘right from the start, in any team, at school or college or even playing tape ball in the street, if the situation was easy I always found it hard to perform. But when it was difficult, when the responsibility was on me, then I always scored.’

I suppose this trait in him carried him along without much fuss as he won series after series for Pakistan. His failures were rare and compared to his victories almost negligible.

For someone who lost his father at the age of 14, life taught Misbah how to stand on his feet and face the challenges. And what greater challenge there was than transforming a tattered, battered bunch into match-winners which he achieved with flying colours.

Before becoming captain Misbah had scored 1,008 runs in 19 Tests at an average of 33.60. After taking over as skipper, he scored just under 4,000 runs in 42 Tests at a fantastic average of 56.68 which is a testament to his class and temperament.

We all wish Misbah well for the series ahead and expect Pakistan to win it as a befitting tribute to one of its favourite sons.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2017