Last week, Misbahul Haq -- the most successful Test captain of Pakistan, and Younus Khan -- the highest scorer in Test cricket, decided to hang up their boots after the next three offshore Test match series against West Indies starting from April 21 to May 14.

The decision of both the cricketers was expected as pressure was mounting on them from critics mainly due to their ages. While Misbah is the oldest cricketer in international cricket at the age of 43, Younus has crossed the age of 39. But the controversy-free career of Misbah, which saw ups and downs, made him a gentleman. Younus earned laurels for winning the lone T20 World Cup for Pakistan in 2009, while under Misbah’s captaincy Pakistan also won an Asia Cup in 2012.

Misbah made the announcement at the historical Gaddafi Stadium, one day after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar M Khan disclosed that the series against West Indies will be Misbah’s last. In fact, Misbah did not want to disclose the exact date or time of his retirement, but Khan’s statement forced him to endorse the chairman’s decision before the media.

In his 23-minute talk with the media of Lahore, Misbah looked quite satisfied. While he started his international career in 2001, Younus, who made the announcement in Karachi, just hours before his departure for West Indies, began playing in 2000. But Younus remained lucky as he cemented his place in the team and played regularly till today. He has so far played 115 Test matches scoring 9,977 runs, just 23 from reaching the 10,000-run mark to become the top Pakistani Test batsman to have made so many runs. He also played 265 One-day Internationals to score 7,249.

But Misbah was not as lucky. Despite starting his career only a year after Younus, he could play 72 Test matches as his career saw many ousters, till cementing his place in 2010 as the captain. In 2001, he only played one Test against New Zealand. Next year, Misbah only played three Tests and then there was a long break from 2003 to 2007 when Inzamamul Haq was the captain of the team.

After Inzamam quit, the fate of Misbah shone. He played four Test matches in 2007 to again face disregard of the selectors in 2008 and 2009. However, he returned to the team as captain and led Pakistan in the Test match against South Africa in 2010. He remained the most successful captain by leading in a record 53 matches, winning 24, losing 18 and drawing 11. Misbah also led Pakistan in 87 ODIs, winning 45, losing 39, while two ended in a draw. He also beat India on their soil in 2012, winning the three ODI-match series by 2-1. He scored Test centuries against all seven Test playing countries.

Despite being named ‘tuk tuk’ for his slow batting, Misbah matched the record of Sir Viv Richards, the most destructive batsman in the world of cricket, of scoring the fastest century off 56 balls while playing against Australia in the UAE. He also set a new record of scoring a half-century in the same match off 21 balls.

Misbah also earned ICC Spirit of Cricket and best captain of the modern day of cricket awards. He needs just 51 runs to cross the 5,000-run mark in Test cricket.

Last week, Lahore saw the launch of the first squash league. A huge function was held at a local hotel, which was graced by legendary squash player Jahangir Khan. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan was also invited. The Punjab Squash Association has taken a positive step to launch the league on the pattern of the Pakistan Super League.

Handsome cash prizes will be awarded to the players. Seven teams are taking part with each consisting of seven players. One player each from under-11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and one from senior category, besides one woman, will make one team. Cash prizes amounting to Rs7.5 million will be awarded. The league is set to commence from middle of the this month.

On the other hand, the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation has sold out its third team as it is also organising a league from May 16. But due to lack of sponsorship, fears prevail regarding a delay.

Though kabaddi has the potential to attract fans to the stadium, sponsors are not interested much in supporting this indigenous sport.

Punjab government honoured special athletes for earning three gold, seven silver and six bronze medals in the Special Olympics held in Austria last month. Rimsha Naeem, Fatima Amir, Sabahat Tariq and Hazeefa Qazi were rewarded Rs75,000 each. Hamza Aslam, Usama Aziz, Pervaiz Ahmad and Hameeduddin were given Rs50,000 each, while Tehmina Munir received a cash prize of Rs40,000 from the provincial sports minister.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last week launched two big programmes -- one at school level and the second at club level. The interschool A.H. Kardar Cup started across the country with around 800 teams competing in 16 regions affiliated with the PCB.

The board also started the inter-club Fazal Mahmood Cup. Around 2,800 cricket clubs from 98 districts are competing in the tournament, giving an access to 45,000 cricketers to test their abilities.

Both competitions are huge at the grassroots. Hopefully, proper arrangements have been made to utilise the talent and potential of these activities.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2017