Misbah-ul-Haq opens up about 'cricketing journey'

At 42, Misbah-ul-Haq has finally achieved what no Pakistan skipper ever could. Of course, many have come close and let stranded at the altar, but, with the Test mace in his grasp, Misbah can be proud to be one of the first Pakistani skippers to ever have had such a reckoning.

However, in his case, it has not always been about the laurels. It has been about doing the right thing, and, as far as his cricket goes, it has been that way since he graced the arena with his presence. He wants to continue playing till 50. Well, although that may very well be a bridge too far, we will most certainly have to wait and see what exactly happens.

In that capacity, the pages were turned back to the time when Misbah had to make a decision on his cricketing career. Speaking about his younger days on a show hosted by former Pakistan great Wasim Akram, Misbah began to take one and all back to the days where it all began.

Misbah-ul-Haq said that the story was the similar romantic one as many have been thus far. “It’s a fact that there is always a story behind every cricketer and my story is quite difficult because my arrival in this field was a bit late. Yes, I used to play cricket since my school days but the real cricket I started after 1992. I just had given my FSC paper (probably intermediate) and after that, I just started playing proper cricket.”

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“In fact, I was mostly forced by people to play cricket. I was good in tape ball cricket and most of the time I used to hit straight, so many people thought that I should play at a higher level in cricket, especially my cousin, who has his own club — Mianwali Gymkhana.”

He went on to add, “I actually used to run away from it because it would take up my entire day and initially I was never interested in playing with a leather ball. I loved playing tape ball but my cousin forcefully insisted me to start playing with a leather ball and once I began playing, I enjoyed it a lot and my attraction shifted from tape ball to leather ball cricket. This is how it all started. “

“After that, I played plenty of matches for club cricket then I went to Faisalabad to complete by B.SC as my father had one thing cleared.” He stated, “Do what you want but you have to at least complete your education and try to do post-graduation as well, whether I score poor marks or good marks don’t matter.”

Misbah went on to add the importance of an education. “Education changes your life, it changes your way of thinking, you start seeing things in a different way and also my subjects were double maths, physics in B.SC and after that, I completed my MBA.  Maths and physics are such subjects which enable one to see things from every angle with a newer point of view. You go deep into things while analyzing. So, when it comes to decision making in a game, you go deep in analysis with different angles and quickly too.”

“When I went to Lahore for masters, once again my cousin Tahir started pushing me for playing cricket and sent my kitbag there. I think, I would not have played cricket if he had not pushed me so much. Then I started playing club cricket for service, just to maintain my fitness. I started playing for fitness and while playing I met plenty of international cricketers and then I realized that I should also play at this level. I played my first grade two cricket in 1995 and then I made my first-class debut in 1998/99 for Sargoda after completing my MBA.”

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