Stats: Misbah-ul-Haq smashes the record for most sixes by a captain in Tests
Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has broken the record for the most number of sixes hit by any skipper in the longest format of the game. The 42-year-old achieved the feat while batting in the first innings of the second Pakistan-West Indies Test match at Abu Dhabi, that began on Friday.
Misbah went past former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who hit 59 sixes during his tenure as Kiwi Test captain between 2013 and 2016. MS Dhoni, who retired from Test cricket in 2014, hit 51 sixes during his 6-year spell as India captain in whites.
Interestingly, the 35-year-old Ranchi cricketer held the record for the most number of sixes for a captain in Tests when suddenly called it quits towards the end of 2014 and McCullum too retired from the game with that record to his name in February, earlier this year.
Ricky Ponting, someone with a penchant for big sixes in the limited-overs, is seventh on the list for the most number of sixes for a captain in Tests, with 37 in a captaincy tenure that lasted for 6 years.
As many as five West Indies captains also make it to the Top 10 with Brian Lara the highest placed of the lot, at Number 4 with 49 sixes to his credit. He is followed by two-time World Cup winning captain Clive Lloyd, who hit 48 sixes during his stint as captain.
Also read: SK Flashback: When Misbah-Ul-Haq took over as Test captain in 2010
In his 11-year spell as Windies skipper, Viv Richards hit 46 sixes and is sixth on the list. Chris Gayle follows Ponting with 34 hits over the fence and Darren Sammy rounds off the Top 10 with 32 sixes in 30 Tests as captain.
In 2014, Misbah smashed the joined fastest century in the history of Test cricket, when he made a 56-ball hundred against Australia at the same venue, sharing the record with Richards. That record was eventually broken by McCullum earlier this year, when he made a 54-ball hundred against Australia in the final Test of his career at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
| No. | Name | Number of Tests captained | Number of sixes |
| 1. | Misbah-ul-Haq (PAK) | 48* | 61* |
| 2. | Brendon McCullum (NZ) | 31 | 59 |
| 3. | MS Dhoni (IND) | 60 | 51 |
| 4. | Brian Lara (WI) | 47 | 49 |
| 5. | Clive Lloyd (WI) | 74 | 48 |
| 6. | Viv Richards (WI) | 50 | 46 |
| 7. | Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 77 | 37 |
| 8. | Chris Gayle (WI) | 20 | 34 |
| 9. | Imran Khan (PAK) | 48 | 30 |
| 10. | Darren Sammy (WI) | 30 | 32 |