With 4,968 runs in 60 Test matches, Azhar Ali will soon become the 8th batsman from Pakistan to score 5,000 Test runs. Misbah Ul Haq was the last entry into this club during the recently concluded series against the West Indies.

Since his debut in the summer of 2010, Azhar Ali has risen to become one of Pakistan's key test batsmen.

He has scored runs in all conditions, has been a mainstay at number 3 for Pakistan, and in more recent times has been one of Pakistan's most effective Test openers ever.

Since his debut, Azhar Ali is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Tests. He out scored Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq during this period; the two great pillars of Pakistan's test team.

Among all Test batsmen during this period, Azhar Ali has the 5th highest runs tally. And third highest among openers, behind only Alastair Cook and David Warner. In terms of his Test average, Azhar is at par with both Cook and Warner.

Given this, it quite surprises me that there is no mention of Azhar Ali when the world's best - Joe Root, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli - are talked about.

That could very possibly be because of his lack of success in other formats of the game. Rather, not the same level of success he has had in Test cricket.

No doubt Azhar Ali's batting suits Test cricket more, but his ODI record is also quite neat.

For majority of his career thus far, Azhar Ali batted at number 3 for Pakistan; however over the past two seasons he has been opening. It in this position, where he has truly blossomed into a world class performer.

His record as an opener for Pakistan in Tests is unparalleled. In fact, it is one of the best records for an opener in Test cricket.

Azhar's current Test average as an opener is the 6th highest average among all batsmen who have opened in at least 20 innings in Tests in the history of the game.

There is no one in that table from this era, besides Matthew Hayden. All those other batsmen played cricket a long long time ago.

Azhar has had a phenomenal two years as an opener in Test cricket, better than any opener has had for Pakistan ever. He might end up moving back to number 3 now that Younis and Misbah have retired, but I would really be tempted to make him keep opening for the rest of his career, given his unprecedented record so far.

Whether number 3 or opener though, I have no doubt that Azhar Ali is among the best in the world right now and he will end is career as a Test great and quite possibly as only the second batsman from Pakistan to cross 10,000 Test runs.

Over the years I have criticized Misbah no end for his ODI captaincy and for his ODI batting. I believe replacing Shahid Afridi as ODI captain in 2011 with Misbah was one of the gravest mistakes ever committed. Misbah's defensive approach crippled Pakistan's ODI team and we are all aware of the sad state our ODI team is in.

The same approach however did wonders for the Test team, and for that I applaud Misbah Ul Haq the Test Captain and the Test Batsman.

What Misbah achieved in his almost 7 years as captain of Pakistan's Test team is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan cricket.

Here is a look at his accomplishments as a Test Captain.

GREATEST TEST CAPTAIN FROM THE SUBCONTINENT

Number 1 Test Ranking for Pakistan.
Most Test wins ever for a Pakistan captain.
Second most Test wins for a captain from the subcontinent.
Most test wins away from home for a subcontinent captain.
Most Test series wins for a subcontinent captain.
First Test series win over Australia in over 20 years.
3-0 clean sweep of England when they were Number 1.
Pakistan's record and world's 6th highest run chase in Test cricket.
World's fastest run chase in Test cricket.
Pakistan's first ever Test series win in the West Indies.
Most Test wins by a captain from the Subcontinent in the West Indies.

These achievements by the team under Misbah truly make him the greatest Test captain ever for Pakistan; and probably from the Subcontinent too.


ONE OF THE BEST FROM PAKISTAN

Misbah recently became the 7th batsman from Pakistan to score 5,000 Test runs. He ended his career as the 6th highest run scorer for Pakistan in test cricket. One can only wonder how many more he could have scored had he played as much as the ones above him.

BEST TEST BATSMAN FROM THE SUBCONTINENT AS A CAPTAIN

Misbah scored over 80% of his Test runs - 4,214 to be exact - as captain of Pakistan. He scored 8 of his 10 Test centuries and 35 of his 39 fifties as captain.

He is not only the highest run scorer among all Test captains from Pakistan, he is also the highest run scorer among all Test captains from the Subcontinent; and the only batsman from the Subcontinent with over 4,000 Test runs as captain.

Among all Test captains, Misbah has the 8th highest runs tally and has one of the best averages among the top 10 highest scoring captains of all time.

MATCH WINNER AS A CAPTAIN

Misbah not only contributed to Pakistan's test wins as a leader of the troops on the field; he also led from the front as a batsman scoring more runs than any captain from the Subcontinent in Test victories.

Among all Test captains he has the 7th highest runs tally in Test victories, and his phenomenal average of 69.7 is the third best of all time, behind two great Australian captains.

FASTEST HUNDRED AND FIFTY IN TESTS

It is quite ironic that a man who became known as "Tuk Tuk" due to his ultra defensive batting holds the record for the fastest fifty and second fastest century scored in Test cricket.

When he got that century off only 56 deliveries against Australia, it was the joint fastest ever in the history of the game. It was bettered by Brendan McCullum.



Misbah's retirement is one of those rare Pakistani sport retirements that have come at a time when he was still at the top of his game. Rarely have Pakistani greats bowed out the way Misbah did after Pakistan's first ever series victory in the West Indies.

It was a match and series that will be remembered for a long time to come.

Misbah was truly captain fantastic for Pakistan and one of the best leaders to serve our nation. There hasn't been anyone like him, and I doubt there will be any in the future.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Younis Khan is the greatest test batsman produced by Pakistan. Even though less talented than Javed Miandad, Inzamam Ul Haq, and Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan showed what sheer hard work, dedication, and determination can produce.

His numbers, which you can see in detail below, speak volumes of his contribution to Pakistan cricket. Beyond the numbers, his support to captains, guidance to younger batsmen, ability to build partnerships, and achievements as a fielder make him one of the best cricketers ever to play the game.

Here is a look at Younis in Numbers...

PAKISTANI COLOSSUS
He could have finished with the best average as well if he did not have an indifferent last test series, but the gap between Younis and the next best in terms of runs (Miandad) and centuries (Inzamam) is quite significant.

Some of his batting feats include:

- The first batsman from Pakistan and 13th in the world to reach 10,000 Test runs.
- One of the four batsmen from Pakistan to score a triple century in Tests.
- One of 8 captains in the world to score a triple century in Tests.

WORLD CLASS CENTURY MACHINE
Only 5 batsmen in the world have scored more centuries than Younis Khan in Tests; only 2 of them scored them at a faster rate than Younis; and none of them converted their fifties into centuries better than Younis did.

With a century every 6.26 innings in test cricket, Younis has one of the best century scoring frequency in the history of test cricket.

With the fifth best conversion ratio, Younis is even better at converting his fifties into centuries.

GREAT MATCH WINNER
For Pakistan, no one scored more runs or more centuries than Younis Khan did in Test wins. He played in 3 test wins less than Inzamam Ul Haq; however scored 300 more runs and 2 more centuries than the other great match winner Pakistan produced.

Among all batsmen, Younis has the 5th best average in Test wins in the history of the game.

What is even better is Younis Khan's record in Test wins away from home - he is the second highest run scorer in away wins and has a phenomenal average of 94.2 in these wins. And these do not include wins in his home away from home; i.e. the UAE.


KING OF THE FOURTH INNINGS
Younis Khan has one of the best records in the world for the fourth innings in tests. He is among the only 6 batsmen in the world who average above 50 in the fourth innings; and no one in the history of the game has scored more test centuries in the fourth innings than Younis Khan has.


BATTING GIANT FOR ALL CONDITIONS
Younis Khan is the only batsman in the world who has scored Test centuries in 11 countries - in all 10 test playing nations and in the UAE.

It did not matter where he played and who he played against, Younis scored lots of runs.

He averages above 50 in 7 of the 11 countries that he has played Tests in; he averages less than 40 in only 2 of these countries.

He averages above 50 against 5 countries; and not lower than 38 against any opposition.

Younis is the fifth highest run scorer in Tests away from home, and this does not include his test runs scored in the UAE. Needless to say, no one from Pakistan has scored more runs than Younis in foreign conditions.

Imran Khan was perhaps the last Pakistani cricketer who retired with grace after accomplishing what no one before him had.

And now, after all these years, another Khan and another Niazi, have bid farewell to the game like no one before them. One after a series where he became the first Pakistani batsman to reach 10,000 test runs; the other after becoming the first Pakistani captain to win a test series in the Caribbean.

These two feats are just the icing over the unparalleled careers that the two legends, Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq, have had.

I don't think any Pakistani cricketer got a send off as grand and as epic as these two did, and boy did they deserve it!

Talk about an epic farewell series.

Talk about an epic last test match of your career.

Even if one had put the best writers to task, no one would have scripted the end better than the way it folded in front of our eyes during the last session at Windsor Park in Dominica last night.

Pakistan had waited 60 years for this victory. Imran Khan had spent half his career trying to achieve this victory.

Surely it is not the same West Indies; but it hasn't been for two decades now and yet Pakistan never managed to win a series there.

Till last night.

The last hour, while Roston Chase blocked and blocked and blocked, all those memories of bad umpiring decisions, missed run outs, lost opportunities came haunting back.

That hour was so nerve wrecking for us fans that one can only imagine what Misbah, Younis, and the other nine men on the field would have been going through.

Anything less than a win would have been such a depressing end to two legendary careers.

Anything less than a win would have meant that Pakistan lost the best chance they had at a series win in the Caribbean.

Pakistan held on though.

They held on to their belief and they kept fighting.

You could see the Pakistanis flustered though. Yasir was running in faster, bowling a little faster and flatter, almost as if he was in some hurry. Probably to get in as many overs as possible.

Till that final delivery.

All nine fielders moved in closer.

They were all right under Gabriel's nose.

Everyone knew the importance of that delivery, but no one more than Yasir.

He delivered it a bit slower than the rest of his over.

It came looping down enticing Gabriel.

And the rest ...

What an end seriously. What an epic end for Misbah and Younis.

In two days time, Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq will take the field for the very last time for Pakistan. Many feel they are leaving too soon, while many think that they have timed it perfectly.

No one really knows when the best time is to hang up their boots, but one thing I am sure of...

Both Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq are still at the top of their game, still the best test batsmen Pakistan have, and still have some years left in them.

In my opinion, the best 5 batsmen to play test cricket for Pakistan are:

All five of them are Pakistani stalwarts; however some of them overstayed their welcome.

If you take a look at the last three years of their careers, it is apparent that Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf had lost their touch.

Younis in fact has averaged more than his career average in his last three years; while Misbah has been quite consistent. Inzamam also performed in line with his career performance in his final few years.

Miandad and Yousuf though were below par.

Probably best for Younis and Misbah to call it time while they are still at the top of their game.

I found this quite interesting so I took a look at the final three years of the leading 5 run scorers of all time in test cricket. This is what I found:

While Kallis, Dravid, and Sangakkara were still at their peak; Sachin and Ponting went through a significant dip in form in their final few years.

Like Younis, Sangakkara too averaged more than his career average in his last three years.

It is also interesting to note that Younis, Ponting, and Kallis scored double centuries in their last three years; while Sangakkara managed a triple century!

Even more interesting is the fact that Kallis and Sangakkara managed their career highest score in their final three years.

So much for legends overstaying their welcome; besides a few all of them retired with grace and while they were at the top of their games.

Despite the heavy criticism of Misbah the ODI leader and batsman, Misbah the Test captain has been absolutely phenomenal.

Yasir Shah has taken wickets in heaps since his debut. He in fact has the second highest wickets tally in test cricket during the period after his debut.

His wickets per innings and per match is also quite amazing; second only to Ashwin's. It clearly indicates that he is Pakistan's primary strike option.

However, he does bowl a lot of overs and gives away a lot of runs for those wickets.

Among the top ten wicket takers during this period, Yasir has the second worst average, third worst economy rate, and third worst strike rate.

But does all this matter considering the number of wickets he takes?

He has taken 10 5-wicket hauls in 25 tests, which is phenomenal. It is as many as Saeed Ajmal managed in his 35 tests, and as many as Mushtaq Ahmed managed in his 52-test career.

During this period, only Ashwin has taken more 5-wickets hauls than Yasir; and only Herath and Ashwin have taken more 10-wicket hauls.

So irrespective of the average, strike rate, and economy, Yasir is a magnificent bowler and a major match winner for Pakistan.