Former Pakistan cricketing greats Abdul Qadir, Kamran Akmal, Rashid Latif and Shoaib Akhtar have heaped praise on skipper Misbah-ul Haq's aggressive approach as the team thrashed Australia in the second Test in Abu Dhabi to win the series 2-0 on Monday.
Misbah silenced his critics when he hit a record fastest Test 50 on his way to a record-equalling century on Sunday and a day later he delivered the coup de grace by leading Pakistan to their first Test series victory over Australia in 20 years after they won the second Test by their best ever margin of 356 runs.
Qadir said that Misbah's performance in the second Test had eclipsed veteran batsman Younis Khan's incredible batting performance throughout the series, The Dawn reported.
Misbah came into the Test series under immense pressure after Pakistan lost the ODI series 3-0 to Australia and there were calls for him to step down from captaincy with the World Cup fast approaching.
However, after Pakistan won the first Test by 221 runs in Dubai, the pressure eased somewhat on the Pakistan skipper before his fireworks on Sunday. Qadir said that there was a lot of pressure on the skipper ahead of the Test series but he's responded amazingly in those circumstances and managed to regain his lost form.
Meanwhile, discarded wicket-keeper Akmal was effusive about the impact Younis had on the team, saying that the return of the veteran batsman was crucial to Pakistan mounting a superb comeback in the Test series.
Akmal also said that by reaffirming Misbah would be Pakistan captain till the World Cup when he was going through a bad patch, the PCB gave a clear cut message to all other players, and that helped the skipper to stage a comeback which was essential before the World Cup.
Moreover, former captain and wicketkeeper Latif also praised Misbah and Younis for Pakistan's success. He said that Younis is the main man for this success while Misbah, Azhar Ali, Ahmed Shehzad and Sarfraz Ahmed proved their mettle by scoring crucial runs.
Despite being his team's top run-scorer in Tests and ODIs in the last two years and boasting a respectable record as captain, Misbah's detractors believed him to be too defensive as a leader and a batsman.
Victory in Abu Dhabi, though, seems to have turned it around for Misbah.
Former Test bowler Akhtar also said that Misbah showed aggression, played with lots of heart and added that Pakistan demolished Australia. He said that all of a sudden Misbah changed his attitude, scored a century off 56 balls and one could see the results.
Former Test batsman and Pakistan coach Mohsin also gushed at Misbah's battling spirit. He said that the criticism of him was unjustified, adding that the skipper batted the way he did because it was the team requirement.
Misbah has now equalled the record of Imran Khan and Javed Miandad for most Test wins as skipper that is 14, the report added.
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