Mishab Khan

Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi is a professional Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team. Misbah is reputed to play under pressure with a cool head. He is a middle order right handed batsman and a occasional leg break bowler.

Misbah made his debut in the test match against New Zealand in the year 2001. In 2002 in the Tri-nation tournament in Nairobi, Kenya Misbah became known for his technique and temperament and in the three innings he played he scored two half-centuries. However during the next three Tests against Australia he could not score more than 20 runs and was eliminated from the team.

When Misbah was 33 he was selected to participate in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 to fill up the vacancy created by Inzamam-ul Haq. Before this series he was consistent throughout the domestic cricket and was one of the top run scorers in first class cricket. Misbah played an important role in several exciting run chases and became one of the stars of the tournament.

In the Super 8s match against Australia Misbah scored an unbeaten 66 in 42 balls and was named as the Man of the Match with Pakistan winning the match with 5 balls to spare. In the semi final against New Zealand Misbah played unbeaten and Pakistan booked a spot in the final.

In the final match against arch-rivals India Misbah played an important role in the recovery of Pakistan. In Harbhajan Singh’s last over of the match Misbah hit three consecutive sixes. In the remaining 4 balls six runs were necessary to win the match. Misbah attempted to scoop the ball over short fine leg and was caught.

Misbah started the year 2008 on a high note as he was upgraded to the spot of Vice-Captain of the team of Pakistan and was given a Grade A contract. While playing in the previous five Test innings against India Misbah accumulated 458 runs at an average of 152.67 which is very high. In Domestic cricket for Punjab Misbah scored 190 runs at an average of 63.33.

Major achievements

Man of the Match for 2007 ICC World Twenty20 against Australia

Highest test score of 161 not out against India in 2007 test series