Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi (
Urdu: ) (born May 28, 1974) is a
Pakistani cricketer and the captain of the
Pakistan national cricket team for s and s. He is a solid middle-order batsmen best known for his composure with the bat, whilst also having the ability to be an aggresive big shot player.
Early career
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. Having witnessed Pakistan being eliminated in the opening phase of the
2003 Cricket World Cup, Misbah was part of the changes made to the team in the aftermath of these results, but failed to make much of an impact and was soon dropped again.
Comeback
At the age of 33, Misbah was chosen to play in the inaugural
ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, filling the middle order spot vacated by
Inzamam-ul-Haq. He had been regularly making runs in Pakistani domestic cricket and in the years before his recall he was consistently one of the top run scorers at each season's end, with his first-class average briefly climbing above 50.
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...
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