Misbah-ul-Haq - Pakistan's most successful Test captain?
This second Test against Australia being played in Abu Dhabi is Misbah's 31st Test as captain of Pakistan, which puts him level with Inzamam as the third most capped Test captain of Pakistan.
Only Javed Miandad (34) and Imran Khan (48) have captained Pakistan in more Test matches than Misbah.
Both, Miandad and Imran are also Pakistan's most successful Test captains with 14 test wins apiece.
The last Test win over Australia was Misbah's 13th win as captain.
That is quite an achievement considering that Miandad and Imran’s stature in Pakistan's cricket history.
With the amount of criticism that Misbah receives, it will be quite a slap on the critics’ faces when he ranks alongside both Miandad and Imran as Pakistan's most successful Test captain.
With the ongoing Test against Australia being played and another three to be played against New Zealand next month, Misbah could well could well achieve that honour before the end of the year!
What is interesting to note is that Misbah has won a greater percentage of Tests as captain than Miandad and Imran. However, Wasim Akram is the more successful Test captain in terms of % wins, winning 48% of his Tests as captain of Pakistan.
Misbah has also lost a greater % of Tests as compared to Miandad and Imran, however that could also have to do with the higher number of Tests that used to end in draws during the 80s.
Miandad, Imran and Akram also rank above Misbah in terms of W/L ratio in Tests as Pakistan captain.
I won't be surprised, however, if Misbah improves on those aspects, i.e. % wins and W/L, considering the way Pakistan are playing and that they face New Zealand in the UAE next.
I have been completely against Misbah as Pakistan's ODI captain. However, I have always maintained that he is the right man to lead Pakistan in Test matches, and achieving this record, which may happen as soon as in the next 4 days, will be one huge feather in Misbah's cap.