Published: May 11, 2017, 06:45 PM (IST)
Edited: May 11, 2017, 06:45 PM (IST)
The ongoing third and final Test between Pakistan and West Indies is Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq’s last international duty. The veterans have won many a match for their country. During the journey, they also earned a few accolades to their name. Misbah, as we know, made Pakistan rise from the ashes of spot-fixing, later going on to become the country’s most successful captain. Meanwhile, Younis was busy accumulating heaps of runs, eventually becoming Pakistan’s first player to complete 10,000 runs in the longest format. However, by all means, the services of these two gentlemen will be dearly missed by Pakistan cricket. Full cricket scorecard: Pakistan vs West Indies 2017, 3rd Test
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, their compatriot Azhar Ali praised the duo for serving Pakistan with distinction. On Misbah, Azhar said, “When Misbah took over as captain, it was a low point in Pakistan cricket. At that time, we were fighting to regain our very dignity and Misbah kept impressing upon us that we had to earn back the faith of our supporters. In the next seven years, we saw tough times but his leadership helped us through them. The one thing that was very important to him was that, whatever the outcome, we must give our absolute best. I personally took that advice to heart and it simply wouldn’t have been possible to achieve what we did without Misbah.”
Misbah captaincy was not the only high point of his illustrious career. Azhar expressed a few words on Misbah’s behavioural traits as well. “His own demeanour is an example in itself. He is mentally calm and has nerves of steel. It is hard to explain in words how important he was in soothing the nerves of everyone when we were under pressure.”
On Younis, Azhar commended his work ethics. “Younis might appear different, but his work ethic is just exemplary. When I was starting off in cricket, I saw how he set about working on his game, how he trained, how he maintained his fitness and what he did in the nets and I thought, ‘This person is worth following.’ Watching him play when you’re at the other end, you learn so much, but at the same time, he doesn’t bombard you with advice, letting you play your game instead. Only if he feels you’ve made a big mistake or you’re struggling badly will he come up and talk to you. And obviously his achievements speak for themselves. That’s what has earned him global respect.”
Azhar has done tremendously well under the shadows of Misbah and Younis. In fact, he was Pakistan’s highest run-getter in the longest format in 2016. He said that Pakistan team will miss Misbah and Younis in the dressing room. “For us, it’s hard to register that they won’t be in the dressing room after this series; we can’t imagine life without them. We were just so surprised at them retiring because they’re still so fit, perhaps the fittest players in our squad. We are very emotional too, just the thought that the dressing room will be without them feels strange, and will do so for a while,” Azhar said.
