Pakistan recalled Misbah-ul-Haq to the Test side and installed him as captain primarily because Younis Khan was not cleared for selection by the PCB, the chief selector Mohsin Khan has said. "We needed a senior player to strengthen our batting line-up," Mohsin told the News. "Our first choice was Younis Khan but we didn't get any clearance [from the PCB], after which we discussed the option of recalling Misbah and decided to go for it."
Another factor that went in Misbah's favour was his non-controversial record and fitness, despite being 36. "In a team where many of the players have had serious disciplinary problems, Misbah is one guy who has a neat and clean background," Mohsin said. "He is a thorough professional and one of the fittest players in our country, which is another big plus point.
"I know that Misbah has just managed to score runs on and off in his international career but he is the kind of player who can click anytime. He has done well in the Pentangular Cup and the National One-Day Cup which is a good sign."
Pakistan had dropped both Misbah and Younis following the winless tour of Australia in 2009-10. While Misbah was cast aside because of poor form, Younis was banned along with several other Pakistan players on disciplinary grounds. Younis appealed against his punishment, like the others did, and was cleared as well, but the PCB have not picked him in the squad since.
Misbah's appointment and Younis' omission was criticised by some former Pakistan players. "Younis' omission is a case of ego problem," former selector Iqbal Qasim told AFP. "Not selecting him despite his ban (being) overturned is (an) injustice and is definitely a loss to the team. This can only happen in Pakistan that a player who was not in the team is given the captaincy besides being recalled after a gap."
"Why did they drop Misbah if he was able enough to lead the team," former legspinner Abdul Qadir said. "But since there are previous examples of players appointed captains from nowhere, we will have to accept it."
Misbah will lead Pakistan in the two-Test series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in November. He becomes the fourth man, after Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi and Salman Butt, to captain Pakistan in Tests in 2010 alone.
The spectacular arrival of Virender Sehwag was bound to inspire others to bat with the same mindset. But the odds of a clone emerging from the backwaters of Jharkhand, whose state side has consistently scraped the bottom, was highly remote. That was until Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived. He can be swashbuckling with the bat and secure with the wicketkeeping gloves. His neck-length hair adds to his dash. Though Dhoni made his first-class debut in the 1999-2000 season, it was only in 2004 that he became a serious contender for national selection with some stirring performances when the occasion demanded - a rapid hundred which helped East Zone clinch the Deodhar Trophy and an audacious 60 in the Duleep Trophy final. But it was with his two centuries against Pakistan A, in the triangular tournament in Kenya, that he established himself as a clinical destroyer of bowling attacks. In just his fifth one-dayer, against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam, he cracked a dazzling 148 - putting even Sehwag in the shade - and followed that up with a colossal 183 not out at Jaipur against Sri Lanka in November, when he broke Adam Gilchrist's record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs.
Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981 in Chandigarh, India) is the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 (ODIs) and played his first Test match in 2003. He is the current vice captain of the ODI team. At the 2007 World Twenty20 he hit six sixes in an over against England's Stuart Broad - a feat only performed three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never previously in an international match between two Test cricket nations. 
