By Kamran Rehmat/Doha


If there is one individual who imbibes the values of a quintessential modern-day Pakistani hero, it is Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi. That he is a sportsman is just a vocation in statistical terms.
Away from the never-say-die philanthropy of a revered Abdul Sattar Edhi or the braveheart Malala Yousafzai, to name just two imprinted figures, no individual has stood up to the count more consistently in recent history than Misbah, the grand old daddy of cricket, who keeps defying age, history and form book in winning hearts and minds.
Cricket - and leadership at that - offers a neat metaphor in the Pakistani popularity matrix. It is that proverbial crown of thorns that almost everyone who has worn national colours for a while aspires to, like a death wish maybe, given Pakistan’s chequered history.
The story of Misbah, nearing 42, however, is relevant beyond the sport - even in a cricket-mad country - because he represents the ideals of a learned man, who goes about his job strictly professionally, without airs, without any real support, but with deep commitment and integrity. He makes no fuss, gets involved in no politics and takes criticism on the chin - no small amount of which has often bordered on prejudice - as if following some Gandhian philosophy to keep peace.
Make no mistake; no Pakistani cricketer has been more lampooned and insulted in his career for how he has approached the game - hardly surprising in a country that lost so much ground over time in terms of heroes of any substance in the sport that it assumed the fake halo of a Shahid Afridi for Head and Shoulders (the renowned brand that removes his apparent dandruff for sales pitch) to lean on.
And pray, what has been the man’s response to digs taken by the whosoever - though mercifully, many have since converted? A near Buddha-like poise; never giving in to the standard Pakistani refrain to hit back, always focusing on the job at hand, and resolutely going back to the vigil mode as the last man standing.
He was entrusted with stewarding Pakistan’s volatile ship at its darkest hour following the match-fixing saga on that dreadful England trip that deprived the team of its attacking arsenal. Even Wasim Akram, one of the game’s greatest ever players and a celebrated expert, questioned the move of handing over the reins to an old horse.
If it is easy to forget the cataclysmic events of 2010 - mercifully, a distant memory now - credit is due majorly to Misbah for manfully, taking on the responsibility of delivering redemption on Pakistan cricket’s behalf after entering what seemed like the Mad Hatter’s party in Alice in Wonderland.
Five years down the road, there is such calm that the familiar rumbling of spoilers trying to rock the boat is passé and normalcy the reigning currency. So profound has Misbah’s impact been that there is now national pressure of sorts to stop him from retiring even at the ripe old age of nearly 42 - a done deal by today’s frenzied pace of the game and fitness requirements.
That he is now the most successful Pakistan Test captain, the country’s highest scoring and the world’s premier averaging skipper, the highest six-hitting stalwart, the fastest century-maker with a place in the Guinness Book, are but just stats on a broad canvas. What a laugh it is to suggest he could only stop time at the crease!
The cold stats don’t bring home the man hours, the fight with inner demons that could potentially haemorrhage your will to continue at an age where you may be just a Test away from being dropped for lack of form, the ability to stay the course when the house is burning (the musical chairs at the Pakistan Cricket Board is still not a distant memory) and the tremendous pressure from unforgiving fans to win at all costs.
A lesser mortal would have succumbed, and long ago. Not the degree-holder in business management from Mianwali in the northwest Punjab province, whose place in the side was long hostage in the prime of his career to the-then skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq’s whim, and where apparently, religiosity often formed the much less talked about basis for a favourable nod.
And yet, when the PCB turned to Misbah in 2010 at what would constitute the fag-end of an average career at 36 - for want of a single worthy candidate - to pull Pakistan cricket out of the mire, he applied himself to the job like a man possessed.
Five years later, Pakistan, the pariah of world cricket, shunned remarkably by the so-called Big Three of the game have risen to the second best in world rankings - without having played a single Test at home since 2009 after a terrorist attack!
It is a just reward for the toil of one of the most honourable men to have graced the game and whose self-belief and legacy is only being understood now. It is the legacy of being patient in a crisis, of being judicious with limited resources, of never losing hope.
And last, but not least, how to win over sceptical fans and influence public opinion!

♦ The writer is Features Editor.