Misbah : The Saviour
(Fahad Ali Khan, Islamabad)
“A leader is best when people
barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say:
we did it ourselves. “ Lao Tzu
Pakistan’s cricket, though already in shambles after the terrorist attack on
Siri Lankan cricket team in 2009 that took the home advantage away from them,
hit its lowest in 2010 when the spot fixing scandal came about; it ruined
whatever pride we had in our cricket. I as a cricket fan was in pain, I had been
an ardent follower of Pakistan’s cricket since the late 90s largely due to the
great bowling attack we had with the likes of Wasim, Waqar, Saqlain and Shoaib,
it hurt more when I saw the involvement of Asif and Amir in the spot fixing
scandal. By then I had lost Faith in Pakistan’s cricket and I was ashamed to be
a fan. And I suppose most cricket fans felt the same.
Keeping in view the context, it was rather Naïve to believe at that time that a
Messiah of sorts would rejuvenate the pride of our cricket team and it was fool
hardy to make someone in the team to be the flag bearer because there was none
to trust. Who would have thought that Misbah; “the person responsible for
Pakistan’s 2007 T2o world cup defeat “as many would say, would one day rise to
become a captain. If I am not wrong he wasn’t even selected in the 2010 Test
team that toured England.
Through thick and thin he remained poised and took the torch forward for
Pakistan’s cricket. During insurmountable defeats in terms of lost matches and
national tragedies he remained steadfast towards his cause and his cause was to
make Pakistan the no.1 test side in the cricketing world. A man with a solid
character and leadership qualities that seem to be very rare in a country that
is always in dearth of leaders, he is an exemplary captain and a man who rarely
gives up in challenges.
However, some would still believe that Imran Khan was the best cricket captain
ever for Pakistan because he was aggressive and won us the worldcup. I believe
Imran was magnificent but he was always a star, he was already someone whether
he had won the worldcup or not and he had the skills to overcome any cricketer
of that time. Misbah on the other hand had to do the hard yards, he was
sidelined for almost a decade, never had the privilege to play outside of
Pakistan and came from a humble background. He had to really strive to attain a
position in the side. Additionally, he quietly overcame numerous challenges in
terms of portraying a good image of the team, no home matches, politics, and
terrorism and to many people’s surprise he led the team to be the number one
side in tests.
Some would argue that Misbah’s time is over as this is the best time to handover
the torch, In my opinion he should be allowed to make his own choice at least he
deserves this much for his efforts over the years and no matter what decision he
takes after the Australian tour he would remain an example for many to follow.