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Misbah and Younis could leave a similar void in Pakistan cricket as Wasim and Waqar did

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Writing for Sroll.in, Saj examines the impact of the retirements of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan on a fragile Pakistan batting line-up


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The names Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan will forever be etched in Pakistani cricketing folklore. Their names will also be remembered for their fantastic efforts, resilience and the great way they carried themselves wherever and whenever they played. Ambassadors, battle-hardened cricketers, cricketing greats, role-models are just some of the words that spring to mind when talking about the two veterans.

The two stalwarts served the volatile world of Pakistan cricket with dignity and pride. The fact that they served Pakistan for so long speaks volumes for both men. The crazy world of Pakistan cricket rarely affords time or patience to many of its cricketers, yet Misbah and Younis lasted for many years.


The saviour

Misbah came to the fore in 2010 when Pakistan cricket was on its knees after the spot-fixing scandal in England. There were calls from some quarters for the team to be banned from international cricket and the need of the hour was for a hero and saviour to come forward and rescue Pakistan cricket.

When Misbah was appointed captain, there were some raised eyebrows within the corridors of power at the Pakistan Cricket Board. However, what ensued was simply remarkable. In his own methodical and simple style he built an empire that will be long-remembered. He built a team of solid and reliable cricketers very much in his own mould, men who he could rely upon and men who he knew would not let the nation down.

Misbah’s methods were criticised at times and his style of play did not appeal to many, but he built a fortress in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan’s adopted home after the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009. His style of cricket was well-suited to the surfaces of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. His modus operandi was simple, as he went about initially reinforcing the team, then building it along his own lines, and then taking it to the No 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings.

It was simply the stuff of dreams. Respected by his team-mates and peers, Misbah always cut a commanding and studious figure. Intelligent, calm and composed are three words rarely used in Pakistan cricket, but Misbah was the embodiment of all three. His critics never gave him an inch, but in return Misbah gave them smiles, results, assured words and performances.


The run machine

Younis Khan’s illustrious career can be looked upon as a guide for any young cricketer wishing to make a name for himself in the cut-throat world of international cricket. From humble beginnings, Younis became the record run-scorer in Test cricket for Pakistan, as well as being the record-breaker for the highest number of catches in Test cricket for his country.

A patriotic man, Younis always stood up for what he felt was right, something which at times irked those at the helm of Pakistan cricket. Whatever issues he had off the field with those in authority, when on the field he gave his all and provided many memorable performances over the years.

His beaming smile, his languid and unorthodox batting style, he was a man who could bat and bat and bat. Many of his runs came when his country needed them the most and on many an occasion he made runs when he was being written off by his critics. Well-respected all over the world, Younis’s levels of fitness could only be marvelled and to the end he took great pride in being one of the fittest players in Pakistan cricket.

The two legends can walk away from Pakistan cricket into the sunset with their heads held high, knowing full well that they served their nation’s flag with dignity. Theirs are careers which young cricketers all over the world can look at and try to emulate.

As Younis and Misbah walk away from the Pakistan Test team, what now for the future for both men? Well, the PCB is very keen to utilise their services and both men know they will be in huge demand, although some family time may be the order of the day first. It would appear that coaching seems to be the favoured option for both greats and the PCB would be well-advised to utilise their services to particularly look at why Pakistan is not producing world-class batsmen. Perhaps there is a need for Misbah and Younis to work at junior levels, identifying batting talent and working with that talent to groom it and bring the best out of those individuals.


Worrying times ahead

With the two stalwarts now heading away from the Pakistan Test team, the harsh reality is that this spells worrying times ahead. Very much like when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis left the scene, the concern is that who will be the replacements for the experienced duo? The fact is that replacing great players like Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan is not going to be easy. The void to fill would be large if one of them was retiring, but with both departing at the same time, the gap is absolutely huge.

It’s very easy to say that someone, somewhere will step up, but the reality is that whoever that someone is will not have the experience, the know-how, the calmness under pressure and the mental resolve that the two retiring greats had. Tough times lie ahead for the Pakistan Test batting line-up and new heroes will need to step up to the plate quickly.

As the dust settles on the incredible scenes and fitting farewell at Roseau, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan can walk away from international cricket with their heads held high and with satisfaction knowing full well that they served their cricket-mad nation with pride and to the best of their ability. As many would say around the globe, we salute you and thank you, Misbah and Younis.

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Good read although Imho don't think that will happen, Younis maybe but Misbah most probably not.Would be interesting to see who becomes the captain though.

Off topic -scroll is expanding quickly has sports page(field) and movie one(reel) as well,surprising.Leftist media defn is most creative.
 
Possible new test line up post MisYou

With the retirement of Younus and Misbah, what will the next Test line up look like?

Here's a possible version:

Azhar Ali
Ahmed Shehzad
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Fawad Alam
Asad Shafiq
Sarfraz Ahmed
Yasir Shah
Mohammad Amir
Hasan Ali
Mohammad Abbas

This line up would be good for seam/ swing conditions overseas

If playing in UAE, Abbas could be replaced by a spinner like Mohammad Asghar and Hafeez could be considered as an opener.

Discuss.
 
Nah, Wasim was in different league than Waqar, YK and Misbah for most of their respective careers.
 
Mentioning Misbah in the same line as Younus, is not fair. Younus has created a void which will be hard to fill, but Misbah's void can be filled easily compared to Younus.
 
If Sarfraz proves to be a competent captain, replacing Misbah the batsman should not be difficult. As far as Younis is concerned, replacing him individually will be tough because he was our best batsman till 2015 and our best slip fielder throughout, but Pakistan can look to improve their overall batting and fielding, which can certainly be achieved.
 
I think their void would be mostly felt in the way they carried the less mature batsman and made them achieve more than they would have. Specially Younis seemed to bring a resilience in his partner and bring out better performances from them when batting with him.. lets see if they have grown enough to bat without the two!
 
It could - but I don't think it will In-Shaa-Allah.

Even when Akram & Waqar retired, in the years that followed we had bowlers like Asif and Amir break into the international scene. Where Pakistani bowling took a major blow is when Amir & Asif got disqualified for their stupidity.

As for the batsmen - we had a similar hole in our batting line up when Inzi and then a couple of years later Mohammad Yousuf retured.

However, when Inzi retired, a few moths later Misbah returned to the team as his replacement and look at where we are now a decade later. Meanwhile, Mohammad Yousuf played her last match for Pakistan in summer 2010 - the same summer that Azhar Ali made his debut for Pakistan. Now if you ask anyone which Pakistani batsmen has the best chance of scoring 10k Test runs next - near enough everyone would say Azhar.
 
With the retirement of Younus and Misbah, what will the next Test line up look like?

Here's a possible version:

Azhar Ali
Ahmed Shehzad
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Fawad Alam
Asad Shafiq
Sarfraz Ahmed
Yasir Shah
Mohammad Amir
Hasan Ali
Mohammad Abbas

This line up would be good for seam/ swing conditions overseas

If playing in UAE, Abbas could be replaced by a spinner like Mohammad Asghar and Hafeez could be considered as an opener.

Discuss.

yeah .... I wish.
Haris depending on his fitness .....
It is a possibility that Asad will move up to fourth and we will see a new no. 6 batsman like usman salahuddin.
fawad alam should get a chance ........ he definitely should. if he doesnt, then it means his problems with board run really deep.
muhammad abbas is good but I think hasan ali is a better prospect.
 
Not even close.

YK and Misbah will not be missed that much. They are not some super star players that have suddenly decided to retire.

YK and Misbah were never in Lara/Sanga/Sachin/Dravid league.

Pak will find players to fill in their shoes.

Pak won against WI with no contribution from Misbah and YK. Even in the last 2 years, Misbah would only score occasionally and YK would only score 1 big century and then disappears in the rest of the tests.

Pak will miss YK on the flat UAE wickets though.
 
YK would be hard to replace, he had some unique abilities, which are not seen in current team, including Misbah himself...YK had ability to play big innings, when set he make it big at good strike rate, at Oval last year, he made 100 runs with Amir, really played fast from 100 to 200 compare that to Azhar, who cannot change the gear and play his shots even when set, Misbah had same problem throughout his career...YK was also very good at building partnerships, because unlike Misbah and Azhar he rotates strike much better...There is a difference in YK batting new at crease and when he has played 100+ deliveries, where as Azhar/Misbah rarely get better with the passage of innings...

YK is also very good slip fielder, will be missed dearly for that alone...YK was also king of 4th innings, that is also a very unique ability.

One area where we will miss both is playing against spin, they were true king of spin, that will left a big void, we got to replace them atleast with one guy who can play spin really well, that's why I think Fawad Alam is going to come in middle order...Shafiq, Babar are not that great against spin, no 4/5 slot in Asia has to be for spin basher...In western conditions its for seamer basher...
 
Not even close.

YK and Misbah will not be missed that much. They are not some super star players that have suddenly decided to retire.

YK and Misbah were never in Lara/Sanga/Sachin/Dravid league.

Pak will find players to fill in their shoes.

Pak won against WI with no contribution from Misbah and YK. Even in the last 2 years, Misbah would only score occasionally and YK would only score 1 big century and then disappears in the rest of the tests.

Pak will miss YK on the flat UAE wickets though.

How did you come to the conclusion that Pakistan won against the Windies without any contribution from Misbah?

He was the stop scorer for Pak of the series with an average of 70 which included 3 50's!
He was the man of the series in England and averaged 50 in the series against West Indies I'm UAE. He played a big part in the last 3 series Pak won.
 
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