Two years ago, Pakistan had to beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in order to qualify for the Champions Trophy 2017; and now they find themselves in the final of the Champions Trophy for the first time ever.

It is their 5th ICC Final overall and their 1st in an ICC ODI tournament in 18 years.

It has been quite a turnaround for Pakistan after being decimated by India in the opening match of the Champions Trophy. Especially considering that they first overcame the world's number 1 ODI team in the group stages and then thrashed the world's strongest ODI side, tournament favorites, and hosts in the semifinal.

Maybe the rain saved them against South Africa; maybe it was an ugly victory over Sri Lanka; but it was an emphatic and dominant win over England. Something that other teams have not been able to manage over the past two years.

Pakistan did not improve their batting. They didn't all of a sudden start hitting 300+ scores. What Pakistan did is adopt a strategy to choke the opposition, bundle them out for 200 odd scores, and chase.

South Africa were restricted to 219. Sri Lanka to 236. England to 211.

In a tournament and in a day and age where 300 is considered par, this is a phenomenal performance.

No other team has been able to restrict oppositions in this manner. Not England, not Australia, not India, not South Africa, not anyone.

HASAN ALI

At the top of this resurgence has been Hasan Ali, Pakistan's newest pace sensation from Mandi Bahauddin. He is the leading wicket taker in this Champions Trophy with 10 scalps and he has very rapidly become Pakistan's main strike weapon.

The best part about Hasan Ali's wickets is that he has picked up the big ones, the key wickets that every captain wants his bowler to get. Take a look at the names who have fallen to Hasan:

Yuvraj Singh
Faf Du Plessis
JP Duminy
Kusal Mendis
Asela Gunaratne
Johnny Bairstow
Eoin Morgan
Ben Stokes

Hasan Ali now has 39 wickets in 20 ODIs, which is the most by any Pakistani bowler in his first 20 ODIs.

Junaid Khan has also been superb for Pakistan. With every game he has shown how the selectors and management were wrong to ignore him for so long. He should have played against India!

Pakistan is the only team in this Champions Trophy whose entire bowling line up has an economy rate of below 5. No surprise that all 6 of their bowlers are among the top 15 in terms of economy rate among all bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 20 overs.



FAKHAR ZAMAN

Pakistan's batting still has to improve significantly. The batsmen still do not play at a high strike rate, nor do they rotate strike as effectively as batsmen from other teams.

Despite majority of their batting being old fashioned, Pakistan has unearthed a gem in Fakhar Zaman. He has led the way in scoring rapidly at the top of the order and shown the world that Pakistan too has some aggressive batsmen who can play modern day ODI cricket.

Not only does he find boundaries often, Fakhar also rotates strike very effectively. He needs to hold lessons for the likes of Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez,

Fakhar has been so good that he has the highest strike rate in the Champions Trophy (for all batsmen with over 100 runs) and that too by some margin. He is one of the two batsmen with a strike rate of over 100 and the only opener with a strike rate of over 100.

And this is his debut ODI series!

Fakhar has brought in some much needed liveliness to Pakistan's batting, which is hampered by a few batsmen who can't manage a strike rate above 70.

This has been one impressive campaign for Pakistan who have gone from strength to strength with every game.

They have set up a likely first ever final with India in an ICC ODI tournament. Sunday in London will be an epic and historic day.

With the momentum that Pakistan has gained over the past week, it is going to be hard to stop them. If they can manage the unthinkable and topple India, Pakistan's campaign would have come full circle in an absolutely dramatic manner.

For the first time in an ICC event we have witnessed this intriguing semifinal line up comprising England, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The British ruled India for 89 years before partitioning British India into two independent countries: India and Pakistan in 1947.

While we are pondering over historical relevance, let us also take the liberty to derive an analogy to what happened in 1947.

England left, Bangladesh was non existent, and Pakistan got its way over India.

You see what I just did there?

I can truly feel it.

Let us take a look at what are the chances of the four teams.

INDIA
India is one of the most successful teams in Champions Trophy history. This is the 5th time that they have made it to the Champions Trophy semifinal. Out of the previous 4 occasions, they managed to reach the final thrice. They lost the Final to New Zealand in 2000; shared the trophy with Sri Lanka in 2002, and beat England in the previous edition in 2013.

In Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, they have the best opening pair in ODI cricket at the moment, and probably of all time too. In a very short period of time, they have notched up 10 century opening partnerships, which is the 5th most by an opening pair in the history of ODI cricket.

Among the leading pairs, they have the third best average; and they are the only pair that puts on a century partnership on average every 6th inning.


In Virat Kohli, they undoubtedly have the best ODI batsman in the world. The ICC rankings confirm that fact. I truly believe he is the best ODI batsman the world has ever seen.

On top of all that they also have one of the best hitters in the game - Yuvraj - and the best finisher in the game - MS Dhoni.

Such a strong batting line up can chase any total thrown at them. 300, 350, 375 nothing will be enough for this team.

Bowling is their weaker suit, yet it is stronger than what it used to be historically. They may struggle defending totals, however I don't see Bangladesh going past this juggernaut.

BANGLADESH
This team has been all about resurgence. Forever the minnows of the Test Nations, Bangladesh finally find themselves competing with the big boys.

Since the World Cup 2015, they have won 17 of their 31 ODIs and lost only 11. They are currently going through their best period in ODIs.

This is the first time in cricket history that Bangladesh have reached the semifinal of an ICC tournament. It is a big achievement for them.

They were lucky to steal a point of Australia due to the rain, but they may have qualified anyway considering that all three - Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh - would have been on 2 points had rain stayed away. Who knows who would have qualified based on Net Run Rate, but Bangladesh can't be denied this moment.

Their chase against New Zealand was quite unbelievable given that it came with their backs against the wall at 12-3 and 33-4. It was a remarkable turnaround, just like their overall cricket competitiveness has been.

Tamim Iqbal is the third highest run scorer in the Champions Trophy, while Shakib is also among the top 10.


Their batting is their stronger suit, but it is their bowling that has improved in leaps and bounds. The young Mustafizur Rahman is among the best young pacers around currently; his guile along with the pace of Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed is a potent combination.

Mustafizur has the second best strike rate in ODI cricket history among all bowlers that have taken at least 40 wickets.


Despite their resurgence, and rising stars like Tamim, Shakib, and Mustafizur, I just can't see them toppling the mighty Indians.

ENGLAND
The pre-tournament favorites and hosts have their own resurgence story. England's turnaround in ODI cricket has been absolutely remarkable. Since being denied a place in the Quarterfinals of the World Cup 2015 by Bangladesh, England have truly transformed as an ODI unit and they are currently the best team in the format in my opinion.


Since that World Cup 2015, England have:

won more ODIs than any other team.
the best W:L ratio; only team with a W:L>2.
the highest batting average in ODIs.
the highest scoring rate in ODIs; only team with RPO>6.
scored the highest total in an ODI innings.

Their entire batting line up comprises attacking stroke makers. Each and every one of them bats aggressively and scores at an alarming pace. Joe Root is arguably one of the best batsman in international cricket currently, and Ben Stokes is not far behind.

Their bowling is also top notch; they have pace and swing in the form of Wood, Plunkett, and Ball; and they have the spin of Adil Rashid, who is the leading wicket taker in ODIs since World Cup 2015.


On the previous two occasions that the Champions Trophy was played in England, the host nation reached the final both times. In 2004 they were beaten by the West Indies; while in the previous edition in 2013 they were beaten by India.

England are the only team that has been unbeaten so far in this tournament. This will be their fourth Champions Trophy semifinal and it will take a gargantuan effort to derail this juggernaut.

PAKISTAN
What does one say about Pakistan that has not been said already. Unpredictable, mercurial, disjointed, temperamental, are adjectives that have been commonly used to describe this team. Their Champions Trophy campaign so far can also be described using the same adjectives.

For most it is a bigger surprise to see Pakistan in the semifinals than it is to see Bangladesh.

They are the lowest ranked team in this Champions Trophy.
Their batsmen play like it is the 1980s.
They have one of the worst W:L ratio since World Cup 2015.
They have the lowest run rate in first 10 overs of ODIs.

Pakistan's lack of ability to play modern day cricket is well documented and one can't really read into the historical performance of a team that blows hot and cold as frequently as Pakistan does.

While they were atrocious against India, they put up a clinical performance against South Africa. In the must-win game against Sri Lanka, they showed why all those adjectives are used for them. They went from good to bad to excellent to bad to good in that one game.

This will be Pakistan's fourth Champions Trophy semifinal; twice they have been denied a place in the final by New Zealand and once by West Indies.

It is really anybody's guess as to what is in store for them this time around. They will have to play completely out of their skin to beat the hosts who are also the tournament favorites.

But they can take some inspiration from the match 10 months ago that took place at the same venue as their semifinal where they successfully chased 302 against England with 10 deliveries to spare.

However, if they are to compete against England they will need a change in personnel and a complete turnaround of intent.

It is going to be tough. Very tough. But I can feel it.

I have a very strong feeling that it will be a final to die for where PAKISTAN will take on INDIA for the first time ever in a final of an ICC ODI tournament.

Around the time of the World Cup 2015, I did an analysis based on a Facebook discussion I had. The analysis comprised understanding how often top batsmen hit boundaries in ODI cricket and how often do they rotate the strike. The main reason behind this was to determine how Pakistani batsmen fared compared to their international counterparts.

The results back then left a lot to be desired and it showed that Pakistani batsmen were well behind others in terms of boundary hitting, as well as, running between the wickets.

Since that World Cup, Pakistan has changed ODI captains twice. Both captains, Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed, have talked about changing the way they play ODI cricket. Both captains talked big about adapting to modern day demands, being more aggressive, and improving Pakistan's overall ODI game.

That is all that has been there in the two years and a bit since that World Cup - Talk.

There has been very little action.

I revisited that analysis for the top 50 ODI run scorers since the World Cup 2015. Just to recap, the two measures used to measure the effectiveness of batsmen are Boundary Rate and Rotation Rate.

Boundary Rate tells you how many deliveries a batsman faces on average before hitting  four or a six.

Rotation Rate tells you how often a batsman scores of deliveries that he does not hit for a boundary; i.e. how often a batsman rotates the strike.

Here are the results.










































The average number of deliveries for these batsmen to hit a boundary is 10.7.

Only one of the Pakistani batsmen, Shoaib Malik, fares better than this. While Hafeez hits a boundary as per global average, Pakistan's other leading batsmen take a few more deliveries before hitting one.

It is interesting to note that majority of the batsmen that hit a boundary every 7-8 deliveries are openers demonstrating the art of utilizing the fielding limitations in the first 10 overs and taking aggressive starts.

No surprise that none of the Pakistanis feature there.










































Rotation Rate tell a slightly different story. The global average is 52.3; implying that batsmen take at least a run on 52.3 deliveries out of 100, off the deliveries that they do not hit for a boundary. In other words, batsmen rotate the strike on average every second delivery they face.

Three Pakistani batsmen rotate the strike at a rate better than this - Sarfraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, and Babar Azam.

Pakistan's ODI captain in fact has the world's second best rotation rate, strengthening the case for Sarfraz to bat higher up the order. Shoaib Malik should probably also be batting a position higher.

Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez are below par when it comes to rotating the strike. Hafeez, in fact, is outright pathetic as he languishes near the bottom of the table. He has a healthy average and decent strike rate but his inability to rotate strike puts needless pressure on his partners and on the team.

So while the new ODI captains have made the big talk, they have not been able to back it up with action. Pakistan has the ability to play modern day ODI cricket; however they will not be able to till the likes of Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali keep featuring in the top 4 of their ODI batting line up.

Numbers 5 and 6 are too low for Malik and Sarfraz and they need to be at least one position higher. Sarfraz should maybe open in place of Azhar and ideally Haris Sohail should come in for Hafeez.

Pakistan needs to back up its talk with some action in the middle and it can only be done with a change in personnel, because the current one doesn't seem to have the intent to play more aggressively.

Since his one-day international debut against Ireland 10 months ago, Hasan Ali has progressed smoothly to become one of Pakistan's key strike options.

In the Champions Trophy match against South Africa he put on a match winning performance picking up the key wickets of Faf Du Plessis, JP Duminy, and Wayne Parnell in an awe inspiring spell of 7 overs, in which he returned figures of 3-18.

It was an impressive performance against the World's number 1 ranked ODI team and he deservedly earned the Man of the Match award.

Hasan's wicket taking ability is special. In fact it is so good that he is among the leading 10 ODI bowlers in terms of strike rate for all bowlers who have taken a minimum of 30 ODI wickets.

Hasan is right up there, where no other Pakistan bowler has featured.

Sure his career is at an early stage but he has shown the world what he is capable of.

Add to his effective bowling the fact that he can bat a bit and is also a good fielder, gives Pakistan a key limited overs asset.

I have no doubts that Hasan will continue to pick up wickets in heaps and his career will flourish over the years.

Only Pakistan are capable of being decimated by the world's number 3 ranked team one day, and totally dominate the world's number 1 ranked team on another. Only Pakistan can drive such fluctuating emotions among the cricketing fraternity.

Everything from Pakistan's bowling to their fielding, catching, running between the wickets, and batting showed significant improvement. It was a massive turnaround.

But let us not forget that South Africa are just as unpredictable as Pakistan are when it comes to ICC tournaments. South Africa have been and will always be easy pushovers in ICC tournaments.

It was a great game for Pakistan, but it wasn't perfect. While many things went right for them, there were still some mistakes.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR PAKISTAN

1. No Wahab Riaz for starters. Junaid Khan bowled beautifully with the new ball and then showed some great reverse swing skills at the death. Wahab has been lacking in both aspects for quite some time now.

2. Hafeez got to bowl. Why he did not get a single over against India will forever remain a mystery. His effectiveness against left handers could have come handy against Shikhar Dhawan.

3. Attacking fields ensured South African batsmen could not take easy singles. Sarfraz even had a slip after the 25th over, which resulted in a wicket.

4. It is amazing how a few quick wickets can make one field better. Pakistan's fielders looked unstoppable in the field yesterday. They were stopping runs, diving around, and just seemed to be every where.

5. Catches win matches. Who knows what India's total would have looked like had Yuvraj and Kohli been dismissed for 8 and 42 respectively. Pakistan's fielders held on to everything that came their way yesterday.

6. Fakhar Zaman. Just the sort of batsman Pakistan needs at the top. Again we will never know what took them so long to induct Fakhar into the ODI side. He looked authoritative at the crease, punished anything slightly loose, ran hard, and scored at a rate that all other Pakistani batsmen are unfamiliar with.

Really makes one wonder why this team was not played against India, doesn't it?

WHAT PAKISTAN DID WRONG

Despite the win, it wasn't at all perfect. There are still chinks in Pakistan's armor and significant scope for improvement.

1. Dot Balls. Pakistan played out 106 dot balls out of the 162 deliveries that they faced. That is huge percentage - 65% !!! Teams don't even play that many dot balls in their 50 over innings, let alone when they face only 27 overs!

Pathetic really. The main culprits are the usual ones - Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez. Why don't they learn? Why can't they at least take singles? Why must they seem so inept at the crease?

Babar Azam looked like a transformed batsman as soon as Shoaib Malik walked out, who seemed to be batting on an entirely different pitch than Hafeez was.

2. Bowling changes by Sarfraz Ahmed left a lot to be desired once again. It is criminal to not allow your best bowlers on the day to bowl their full quota of overs. Hasan Ali and Imad Wasim bowled only 8 overs each. Imagine what Pakistan would have been chasing had these two bowled 4 more more overs.

The two bowlers that completed their 10 overs were the ones with the worst economy.

And your best bowler against India bowled only 5 overs.

Our ODI captain has a long long way to go and learn.

I hope Pakistan get keep on improving and once again become the ODI force they used to be. At least they are starting to make the right changes.

A few more like replacing Azhar and Hafeez with younger and more aggressive batsmen, getting Faheem Ashraf into the XI, and moving Sarfraz higher up the order, can do wonders for this ODI team.

For now, here's hoping they can repeat their performance against Sri Lanka and then let other match results decide whether Pakistan plays the semifinals or not.

This article was first published on ARY Sports.

Where do I begin... Right at the top? Sure lets do that.

Persistence with Incapable Openers

Azhar Ali averages 38 at a strike rate of 75; Ahmed Shehzad averages 33 at a strike rate of 72.

Decent numbers if we were in the 90s. We are in 2017 damn it!

Compare Azhar and Shehzad to other international openers their lack of skill, ineptness, pathetic approach, and inability in the ODI format becomes apparent.



























Since the ICC World Cup 2015, Azhar and Shehzad are at the bottom of the pile in terms of strike rates of openers. The only openers below them are a few from Zimbabwe, a couple from Ireland, and one from Afghanistan.

And then we wonder why we are languishing at number 8.

We had one Sharjeel Khan. A world class modern day ODI opener as the numbers in the above table suggest. Unfortunately we lost him to the menace that has been plaguing Pakistan cricket since the 90s.

The question really is, why do we keep persisting with Azhar and Shehzad at the top of the order?

It is clear, by all the rubbish that Azhar, Sarfraz, and Micky Arthur have been talking, that Pakistan want to play modern day ODI cricket. That they want to change the way they play ODI cricket.

When all the talk is there, where is the thought?

Why don't they then back the players who have the ability to play this brand of ODI cricket?

And I will not for one second buy the argument that there is no one in Pakistan with this sort of ability.

Fakhar Zaman is in the ODI squad for the Champions Trophy. He has been part of the ODI squad for a few series now.

Fakhar Zaman had quite an amazing PSL.

Fakhar Zaman has an average of 50.46 and a strike rate of 94.15 in 48 List A matches.

Fakhar Zaman is sitting warming the bench in the UK, while Azhar and Shehzad show the world how pathetic they are.

If you want to change your brand of cricket, you need to change your personnel, starting with inducting Fakhar Zaman at the top of the order.

Sarfraz Ahmed's Batting Position

Sarfraz is a skillful batsman. He is always busy at the crease, keeps the scoreboard ticking, and bats according to the demands of the modern game.

He is a good ODI record too averaging 35 at a strike rate of 89 - just the kind of batsman Pakistan needs.

But why he is batting at number 6 is beyond comprehension.

Sarfraz has been used as an opener for Pakistan. He has opened in List A cricket for his department, PIA. He has batted at 4 and 5 as well under Azhar Ali. And he has been effective in all these positions.

His record while batting in the top 5 is remarkable and in stark contract to his record when he bats at 6 or lower.

In fact, when batting at in the top 5, he averages double of what he averages when batting lower. Both his ODI centuries and 5 out of his 6 ODI fifties have come when he bats in the top 5.

Yet as captain he is batting at number 6.

Pakistan can do a lot more with Sarfraz a bit higher in the order. They will score more than they are doing at present for sure.

Persistence with Wahab Riaz

This one is really beyond me. That one spell to Shane Watson two years ago and a 5-fer at Mohali 6 years ago will forever haunt us.

Poor Shane Watson must also be wondering how he made it possible for a bowler like Wahab to dominate him.

It does not take a genius to realize that Wahab should not be playing ODIs.

He has averaged 47 with the ball in ODIs since the World Cup 2015 and still he continues playing for Pakistan. I can bet you that he would have played again in the Champions Trophy had he not been ruled out due to injury.

Mystery Surrounding Faheem Ashraf

A relatively unknown quantity till his blitzkrieg against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy warm up match, why he was left on the bench against India is also a mystery.

Maybe his bowling is not up to the mark, but his numbers suggest otherwise - List A average of 25, economy of 5.3 and strike rate of 28. How can someone with those numbers with the ball not be considered as a bowler who can bat a bit?

Pakistan desperately requires some hard hitting batsmen in their line up and Fahim Ashraf is ideal for this role. Even if he does not bowl well, we seem to have enough back up in Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez.

Why do we only talk big and not take action to back that talk?

Things to do before the match against South Africa

It is high time that Sarfraz Ahmed matches his big talk with some action. This is what needs to be done:

1. Drop Ahmed Shehzad. Bring in Fakhar Zaman to open.
2. Sarfraz to bat at number 4. Followed by Hafeez and Malik.
3. Faheem Ashraf to play instead of Wahab.
4. Get more overs out of Hafeez and Malik.

You know, it may not yield the right results immediately, but at least it will demonstrate intent to actually change the way Pakistan is playing its ODI cricket these days.

This article was first published on ARY Sports.

Soon after the euphoria surrounding the farewell of Misbah and Younis ended, Pakistan's ODI squad landed in England for a two week training camp in Birmingham, the same venue where they will play their first group game of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 against arch rivals India.

The last time the two teams met in an ODI was two years ago at the ICC World Cup 2015.

It has been 27 months since that ODI; probably the longest wait ever for a Pakistan vs India ODI. Actually, this century it is they second longest wait ever; after the 33 month wait between their Asia Cup match in Dhaka in June 2000 and the ICC World Cup match in March 2003.

Given this long wait, one can imagine the anticipation among the players and the fans for this big game, which is now less than two weeks away.

The upcoming match is going to be quite different from what we are used to. Dhoni won't be leading India; there is no Misbah; there is no Shahid Afridi.

I don't even remember the last time Pakistan played India without Shahid Afridi in the XI. It probably happened in that 2012 series in India, but you know what I mean - for two decades, Afridi was always there.

Leading up to the game, here's a look at a little bit of history between the two neighbors, whom we just don't play against enough.

PAKISTAN VS INDIA HEAD TO HEAD

Pakistan are still way ahead with a 72-51 record.

PAKISTAN VS INDIA AT ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY

Pakistan are ahead here as well with a 2-1 record.

PAKISTAN VS INDIA IN ENGLAND

India are ahead here with a 2-1 record. In Birmingham, the record is 1-1.

PAKISTAN VS INDIA OUTSIDE THE SUBCONTINENT

Barring games played in the Subcontinent and the UAE, the record is quite intriguing: 15-15.

PAKISTAN VS INDIA THIS CENTURY

The popular belief is that Pakistan was dominant against India in the 80s and 90s (with all those games played in Sharjah); and that India has had the upper hand since the turn of the century.

Not quite true.

The record since year 2000 is 25-24 in Pakistan's favor.

Over the last decade, however, India is leading 11-8.

BEST BATSMEN in PAKISTAN vs INDIA ODIs

Among players in the Champions Trophy squads of both the sides, Shoaib Malik is the leading run scorer. No one has scored more runs or centuries than Malik has in Pakistan vs India ODIs.


Clearly India has the batting advantage with the likes of Yuvraj, Dhoni, and Kohli who have amassed runs against Pakistan.

Pakistan's batsmen, on the other hand, barring Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have not played against India as much.

BEST BOWLERS in PAKISTAN vs INDIA ODIs

Shoaib Malik is also the leading wicket taker among players in both the Champions Trophy squads, courtesy the number of games he has played against India. Likewise, Yuvraj Singh is leading the charts from India's side.


In terms of average, Junaid Khan is well ahead of the other bowlers; while Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not far behind. On strike rate, Wahab Riaz (surprised?) is the most impressive, followed by Junaid Khan.

Barring a couple of players on either side, the rest really haven't played against each other much, which means that pressure will be high. A Pakistan vs India match requires more nerves that most other international games given the off-the-field history between the two nations.

Come 4th June and we can expect a cracker of a game. Pakistan is finding its feet in England, having successfully chased 340 odd in a warm up game. India are the defending champions and on top of their game.

Till the previous edition of the Champions Trophy, also played in England, Pakistan had not lost to India in this tournament. Last time around, the game was also at Birmingham and India had the upper hand in a rain shortened game.

We hope the rain stays away this time, despite the forecast, and that we get a full game.

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.