After equalling the fastest Test century record against Australia in 2014
What is the most demanding job in cricket? Probably, the hot seat of captaincy of the national team. In the Pakistan cricketing setup there is clearly a distinct lack of training ground for team leaders. The modern cricket captains are ruthlessly judged compared to all their predecessors.
The art of mentoring in our system is non-existent and there is no process of grooming future leaders at any level of cricket. The flawed domestic structure is partly to be blamed for this shortcoming because the element of spotting rare talent is clearly missing.
These days captains are not alone in taking the flak because usually former players of some repute accompany them as what we usually refer to as head coaches. Pakistan will soon have Mickey Arthur as their latest import to fill the void left vacant by Waqar Younis.
Some are born leaders and some get the job by default. But in the case of Misbah-ul-Haq, it is a mixed blend of both notions
Therefore, the story of Misbah — who celebrated his 42nd birthday on May 28 — is very fascinating. His Test debut at the relatively ‘old’ age of 26 was followed by sporadic appearances until he was banished for four years from the Pakistan side for no fault of his own. Some believe he was deemed a serious threat to those who were aspiring for captaincy.
On the face of it, Misbah is not the type one categorises into the hall of fame that includes Imran Khan and Javed Miandad — the two legendary servants of our cricket who inherited captaincy in different circumstances. A young Miandad was never wholeheartedly accepted as captain by senior stalwarts. As a result, the infamous revolt surfaced in early 1982 and Miandad — identified by the eagle-eyed Air Marshal Nur Khan as the long-term Pakistan skipper — was forced to give up the job.
Imran was never a first choice for the captaincy but he got the job in a compromise decision to diffuse a potentially explosive impasse between groups of players who wanted their own candidate to be appointed.
The captaincy riddle continued once Imran left the scene and Miandad was again ditched in late 1992 by Wasim Akram and company. The leadership crisis never stayed away far and it seemed everyone wanted to lead Pakistan. The game of musical chairs went on and on until Inzamam-ul-Haq took over the reins in 2003 after Rashid Latif claimed a false catch in what ultimately proved to be his last international match.
The sordid events during the Lord’s Test of Pakistan’s last series in England in August 2010 brought into picture Misbah for national captaincy. Not many expected him to last in the job for more than a couple of years. But as it panned out Misbah not only weathered the storm but restored the image of Pakistan cricket in no uncertain manner.
What has surprised most critics is the durability of this uncomplicated cricketer. He wasn’t picked for the fateful England tour by the Mohsin Khan-led national selection committee six years ago. And when he led Pakistan against South Africa in November that year, he was already well past 36 with a topsy-turvy international career up to that point. He joined Asif Iqbal in becoming Pakistan’s oldest skipper (both were aged 36 years and 168 days) on captaincy debut when he went out to toss with Graeme Smith at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
At the time, the general discussion at various cricket forums was how long this arrangement would last with nobody expecting Misbah to rewrite Pakistan’s history. No one had ever imagined that Misbah would ultimately emerge as the most successful Test captain of his country or carry out the remarkable feat of being the joint record-holder of Test cricket’s fastest-ever century with the legendary Viv Richards until Brendon McCullum bettered the record with a 54-ball century against Australia in his final international appearance earlier this year.