LAHORE, Sept 26: Misbah-ul-Haq, who is now ranked among the country’s most successful cricket captains, has been retained to lead the national team for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa.

Misbah has come under lot of criticism after losing the second Test in Harare to lowly-ranked Zimbabwe but his impressive record in international cricket and his leadership abilities have compelled his detractors to agree that he is still the most suitable man to lead Pakistan in cricket.

The statistics also back Misbah’s credentials as skipper. So far, Misbah has led the team in 22 Test matches, winning 10 and losing just five while seven ended in draw.

The victory average of Misbah as captain is even better than Imran Khan’s who is rated among the world’s best cricket captains. Imran led Pakistan in 48 Test matches, winning 14, losing eight while as many as 26 Tests ended in draw.

Among other successful captains of Pakistan, Wasim led the team admirably in 25 Test matches, winning 12 and losing eight while five ended in draw.

His pace partner Waqar Younis was very impressive too. He captained Pakistan in 17 Tests, winning 10, losing seven with none of the Test matches drawn.

Then come Javed Miandad and Mushtaq Mohammad. While Miandad captained the country in 34 Tests, he won 14 and lost six while the remaining 14 ended in draw. Mushtaq led the team in 19 matches, winning eight and losing four, besides having seven drawn Tests in his tenure.