The Pakistan Cup came to a conclusion last night with the Federal Areas completing a thrilling one wicket win over Balochistan in the final.

Chasing a rather steep target of 324, Federal Areas had a great start with Sami Aslam and Mohammad Hafeez making it look rather easy. A collapse, however made the game close than it should have been. And it ended up being a nail biter!

The Pakistan Cup had some impressive performances, which should be noted by the selectors.

Mohammad Hafeez
I have stated many times that I will never understand the criticism against Hafeez, especially in ODIs. In Tests and T20s, I get it. But in ODIs, Hafeez has been Pakistan's best batsman over the past 6-7 years; barring the recently blooming Babar Azam.

The Pakistan Cup further consolidated his status in the ODI format. Not only was he the leading run scorer of the tournament with 362 runs in 5 innings at an average of 72.4 and a strike rate of 99.5, he was also the Man of the Final and the best batsman of the tournament.

There really should not be any doubt about his place in the ODI team.

Sami Aslam
I have no clue why he was dropped from the test squad to the West Indies and replaced by lesser openers. Whatever the reason was, Sami Aslam responded in the best manner possible.

He amassed 333 runs in 5 innings at an average of 66.6 and a strike rate of 114.4. Quite awesome for a modern day opening batsman.

There should never be a doubt regarding his position as a test opener; this Pakistan Cup has also opened the opportunity for him to be considered as an ODI opener.

Sahibzada Farhan
This unknown 21-year old batsman from Charsadda is playing his second domestic season in Pakistan and he had everyone take notice following his consistent performance in the Pakistan Cup.

In 5 innings as opener of Balochistan, he knocked 4 half centuries and 1 century, which came in the final. He scored 331 runs at an average of 66.2 and a strike rate of 103.4.

He is definitely one for the future!

Fahim Ashraf
He was recently selected for Pakistan's ODI squad to play against the West Indies; however he did not make it to the playing XI in either of the matches.

He was the second highest wicket taker of the Pakistan Cup and has a very impressive List A and First Class Record with the ball.

In the just concluded test between Pakistan and the West Indies, Younis Khan became the 13th batsman in the world, and the first batsman from Pakistan, to reach the coveted feat of 10,000 test runs.

Here are some interesting facts and stats regarding the 13 members of the 10K Club:

1. All of the 13 batsmen have captained their countries in test matches. All of them, besides Kallis, have been appointed full time test captains for their nations. Kallis filled in on 2 occasions.
2. Younis, Lara, and Jayawardene were the only batsmen who had scored a triple century by the time they reached 10K. Besides Kallis, each one had scored a double hundred.
3. Ricky Ponting had the most centuries (35) by the time he reached 10K. Younis, Sachin, and Gavaskar had 34 each.
4. Younis Khan has the best 50 to 100 conversion ratio among the batsmen in the 10K club.
5. Steve Waugh and Alastair Cook are the only batsmen that were not averaging 50 at the time of reaching 10K.
6. Younis Khan's 70 sixes at the time of reaching 10K are the most sixes hit at the time of reaching 10K.
7. Alastair Cook and Sunil Gavaskar are the only openers in the 10K club.
8. Ricky Ponting had the best average on reaching 10K.
9. Waugh, Cook, Border, Lara, and Ponting were all captaining their country when they reached 10K.
10. Only Steve Waugh and Rahul Dravid scored hundreds in the innings they scored their 10,000th test run.
11. Cook, Lara, Kallis, and Jayawardene are the only members of the 10K club who did not score at least a 50 in the test they reached 10K.
12. Brian Lara reached 10K the fastest in terms of innings.
13. Cook, Tendulkar, Jayawardene, and Younis Khan are the only ones who were part of the winning side in the test where they scored their 10,000th run.
14. Younis Khan, at 39 (officially), is the oldest batsman to reach the landmark.
15. Sunil Gavaskar reached 10K in his second last test match. Younis has done so in his third last.

1. Barring injury, Misbah will end his career having captained Pakistan in 56 tests and becoming the 9th most capped captain in the world and second most capped from the subcontinent after MS Dhoni.
2. One win will give Misbah 25 test wins as captain, taking him past Alastair Cook. Three wins will take him past Mark Taylor and Michael Vaughan, and place him level with Sir Viv Richards, MS Dhoni, and Hansie Cronje.
3. Younis Khan is 23 runs away from becoming the first batsman from Pakistan to score 10,000 runs in test cricket.
4. Younis Khan requires another 146 runs to surpass Sunil Gavaskar's test runs tally of 10,122 and become the 5th most prolific test batsman from the Subcontinent.
5. Younis Khan needs one more century to become the first batsman from Pakistan to score 35 test centuries. If he scores two centuries he will join Rahul Dravid with 36 test centuries, the 5th most in the world and 3rd most by a batsman from the subcontinent.
6. Misbah is 49 runs away from completing 5,000 runs in test cricket. He will become the 7th batsman from Pakistan to score 5,000 test runs.
7. Misbah requires another 112 runs to surpass Zaheer Abbas' runs tally of 5,062 to become the 6th highest run scorer from Pakistan in tests.
8. Misbah is 47 runs away from becoming the first batsman from Pakistan to score 4,000 test runs as captain. Another 4 runs will take Misbah past Michael Clarke's runs tally of 3,946 and place him at 9th for most runs as test captain. 

While Babar Azam has been taking huge strides and making headlines as a batsman, Hasan Ali,also in his early twenties, has been making waves for Pakistan as a bowler.

23-year old Hasan Ali has been exceptional with the white ball in the 15 ODIs he has played for Pakistan. He has been a bit on the expensive side with an economy rate of 5.92, but he has picked up wickets in heaps and he has picked them fast.

Last night against the West Indies, he picked up his second 5 wicket haul in ODIs taking his tally to 28 wickets in only 15 ODIs.

He has bowled a mere 120 odd overs for these wickets, which basically means that he has been picking up a wicket every 4 overs or so.

That is quick!

BEST STRIKE RATE EVER FOR PAKISTAN

In only 15 ODIs, Hasan has achieved the best ever strike rate for a pace bowler for Pakistan in ODIs - 26.4; i.e. a wicket every four and a half overs.

Like Babar, he too has a long way to go to be considered in the same league as Pakistan's best, however his start has been quite amazing.

He has already picked up two 5 wicket hauls, half as many as Shoaib Akhtar did in his entire ODI career, and a third of what Wasim Akram achieved in 20 years.

ONE OF THE BEST STRIKE RATES IN THE WORLD

Among all international pace bowlers (excluding associate nations), Hasan's strike rate of 26.4 is 9th best, and he is the only Pakistani in the top 10 best strike rates in ODIs.

He has surpassed a number of quality bowlers to be make this list and it will take one hell of a sustained high level performance to maintain this strike rate.

He has surprised many with his pace, and now he is surprising us all with his wicket taking skills.

ONE OF THE BEST AVERAGES FOR PAKISTAN

Pakistan has not found the same caliber of pace bowlers as Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Shoaib Akhtar promised much, but injuries never left him. Mohammad Asif could have reached the same league, but his vices got the best of him. Mohammad Aamer made the world take notice with his scintillating first year in international cricket, but he does not look like the bowler he did in 2010.

It has been 14 years now since Wasim and Waqar last played for Pakistan. In these 14 years, Pakistan has fielded a number of pace bowlers, with only a handful that made a lasting impression.

Hasan Ali is one of them. In his short career he has shown immense wicket taking ability, which has resulted in him having the second best bowing average for Pakistan since the retirement of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

You would have never guessed that Aizaz Cheema would be at the top of this list!


Hasan Ali is not in the same league as the two Ws, nor is he a special talent like Asif or Aamer. But he is capable of producing fiery spells. surprising batsmen, and picking up wickets quicker than most bowlers. He has the ability to constantly provide breakthroughs and is a major asset in limited overs format.

Hasan Ali is also a special one who needs to be handled with care by the Pakistan team management.

I believe a mistake has already been committed by including him in the test squad. I hope it is a one off, I hope he does not play any of the tests, and I hope the selectors can safeguard his future by telling him that they want him to focus on leading Pakistan's limited overs pace attacks.

With over 1,000 ODI runs, 5 ODI centuries in 25 innings, an average of 56.78, and a strike rate of 90.50 - at the age of 22 - I think extremely special.

BEST EVER ODI AVERAGE

That average of 56.78 is the second best average ever in ODI cricket; and if you exclude associate nations, then Babar Azam currently has the best ever ODI average of all time.

Among these 10 batsmen with the best ODI averages of all time, Babar has the third best strike rate, behind the magnificent AB de Villiers and very marginally behind the great Virat Kohli.

For Babar to be spoken of in the same breath as ABD and Kohli, he will have to sustain this performance and average for at least another 100 ODIs.

With the start he has achieved, I do not have any doubts that in about 5 years time, Babar's ODI record will be very similar to that of ABD, Kohli, and Amla.

PHENOMENAL AT NUMBER 3

Out of his 25 ODI innings, Babar has played nine at number three and all of his 5 ODI centuries have come from that position.

Why Pakistan even bothers to change his batting order around is beyond me.

He has been phenomenal at number 3. His average of 95.62 at number 3 is the current best ODI average ever from that position.

Among the 10 batsmen with the best ODI averages at number 3, only ABD and MS Dhoni have a better strike rate than Babar Azam's.

I'll say it again that in order to be considered one of the best alongside Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and other star performers at number 3 in ODIs, Babar will have to sustain this performance for another 30-40 odd ODIs.

Pakistan's team management will have to play its part though, by sustaining with him at number 3.

BEST SRIKE RATE EVER FOR PAKISTAN

There are only two batsmen in all of Pakistan who have a better strike rate than Babar Azam in ODIs - the one and only, Shahid Afridi, and the one who may never play again, Sharjeel Khan.

Never has Pakistan had a batsman like Babar, who scores freely and consistently. Not since Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar, and a young Inzamam Ul Haq anyway.

But even those names (besides Zaheer Abbas) do not feature in the top 10 batting strike rates for Pakistan.

I will definitely do a numbers post on these two extremely prolific batsmen, but that will have to wait till the three tests against the West Indies are over.

There will be a few more records and much else to celebrate then - Pakistan's first 10K in tests, Pakistan's first 4K as Test captain, and quite possibly Pakistan's first 35th test ton.

Numbers however, will only tell half the story in the case of these two stalwarts. Their services to Pakistan's test cricket over the past decade are incomparable.

Both Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq will be missed immensely, not only for the runs they produce in the middle, but more so for their respective contributions off the field, in the dressing room, and on the other players.






























YOUNIS KHAN

He is Pakistan's very own King Khan.

Besides claiming every single test batting record there is to claim for Pakistan, Younis has had an impact like no other on an entire generation of batsmen.

He has been a major guiding force for many young batsmen, an instrumental contributor to the success of these batsmen, and a true role model that the likes of Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood all look up to.

Younis has built partnerships with each one of the above mentioned batsmen that have taken Pakistan to great achievements. There is a reason why no one else from Pakistan has been a part of as many century partnerships in tests than Younis Khan has. He scores runs himself and he enables his partner to accumulate plenty of runs as well.

Each of Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, and Umar Akmal will tell you a story about how Younis Khan helped them reach their first test hundred. Many others will tell you how easy Younis makes it for his partners while he is at the crease. Pakistan's coaches will tell you how hardworking and dedicated Younis Khan is. Pakistan's test captains will tell you the impact Younis Khan has on the dressing room.

It is these things that cannot be measured by numbers that Younis Khan will be mostly remembered for.

MISBAH UL HAQ

Captain Fantastic!

From taking on the reigns of Pakistan's test team in 2010 following the spot fixing scandal to breaking all the captaincy records there are to break for Pakistan, Misbah Ul Haq has been an exceptional leader.

He has taken Pakistan's test cricket to heights never witnessed before. He took the team out of turmoil, instilled belief and confidence in them, developed a culture like never before, and achieved unprecedented results.

Misbah's achievements as a leader in whites are incomparable.

Never has Pakistan's test cricket seen such continuity in selection and such stability in a batting order over 6-7 years; credit for all of this is to Misbah who has led these men with aplomb.

Enabled by Misbah, the team has broken records, the batsmen have broken records, and Misbah himself has broken records. Such is the greatness of this test team that the records they have established since 2010 will probably remain Pakistan's records for a long time to come.