Captain at 40

The first and probably only time ever you will be able to celebrate the 40th of a current Pakistan cricketer. That too of a high achieving national captain. Only a couple of cricketers from the 1950s have played into their 40s for Pakistan, none were captain either. 

23 50+ in 40 innings for Pakistan at age of 39 across both formats. Leading by example in performance. It's not necessary for a captain to be the main contributor, but it helps.

Misbah's Test Captaincy summed up in a nutshell:

Only lost 2 out of 12 Test series vs 7 different sides.
Only averaged below 50 in 2 out of 12 Test series.

Out of Misbah's 70 50+ at international level. 52 of them have come after the age of 36. Surely highest % ever of career 50s at mid/late 30s.

Captain at 40. You can debate anything in Pakistan Cricket. But no one can doubt that Misbah has been head and shoulders above anyone else in terms of being the best ageing player in the game. Not just in Pakistan or in Asia, in the world. Peaking and having his best performances at 36+ while being Captain simultaneously. Not many have been good enough or important enough for a team to play into their 40s. Only cricketers from the 1950s have played into their 40s as far as Pakistan's history goes. Epitomizing age has no barrier better than anyone. Ensuring late 30s has been memorable. If you have a problem with him playing at 40, you should write to the ICC to make international cricket under 40 cricket like with U19s.

Yes admittedly, it is harder to play at such an age if you started career early. For example Atherton and Graeme Smith. Both who became captains in their mid 20s and both who played in over 100 Tests. Both well capped captains retired at just 33, body took it's toll earlier unlike Misbah. But still, you have to overcome perceptions and the critics will always find a way of mentioning age as something which counts against you.

Model of consistency 

Misbah in Tests as Captain = 27 Tests | 24 50+ | Out 36 times.

Misbah in ODIs since 2011 = 81 innings | 28 50+ | Out 61 times.

Specialists

Captaincy; some just have it. Others don't. Their authority is unmatched, but with that comes supreme responsibility. Many crumble under it. Some survive. Some thrive.

Two schools of thought on captaincy

Select your best possible team, make someone captain (normal way)

Select best possible captain in country, build a team around him (unique way)

Misbah ul Haq
Darren Sammy
George Bailey
Alastair Cook in ODIs

In the past
Mike Brearley
Bob Simpson

All the above were selected based on the second way, wouldn't have been in the team otherwise. Appointed purely on leadership pedigree. Not on seniority. The way specialist captains are appointed, natural leaders with experience or a proven track record in captaincy. The best - well trained captains are usually appointed this way.

I've always believed in specialist captains. You either have it or you don't. Therefore, worth going beyond the usual names to search for the best possible captain, even if that player did not necessarily hold a place in the best first choice playing XI beforehand. Unless you have the right man leading, difficult for a cricket team to function. Captaincy is so important in cricket, more than any other sport in terms of decision making and controlling a team.

Yousuf, Afridi, Inzamam were only made captains because they had served their countries for over 12 years. A prize for seniority. Not because they were "natural" captains who had been leading sides from early on in their careers. Misbah had ONLY PLAYED 19 TESTS when he was appointed captain.

The Severely Misunderstood, Misjudged and Underrated 

POINT 1

Educated player
Controversy free player
Consistent player
Proves age is just a number better than anyone
Consistently makes his critics eat humble pie
Very impressive temperament for batting
Methodical batting approach
Versatile batter - can power the ball and play long innings
Sound fielder
Proven his class in all 3 formats
Started his career extremely late, yet been a long serving Pakistan Captain

What is there not to like about Misbah?

He is not liked/appreciated because

1) Last man out in 2007 WT20 final and 2011 WC semi
2) He replaced Afridi as ODI captain
3) His age
4) His patient batting style

POINT 2

Defeated England 3-0 in Tests
Defeated India in India in ODIs
Won the Asia Cup
Drew against number 1 and number 2 ranked South Africa in Tests
Won an ODI series in South Africa
Won the domestic treble in one season
Won a Test series in New Zealand
Won an ODI series in the West Indies
Won an ODI series vs Sri Lanka twice in UAE
Has a 9-0 captaincy record vs Bangladesh in Bangladesh

What stands out about Misbah getting these feats is a number of factors:

Homeless team
Took over a scandalous team
Had to reverse a string of poor results under previous captains
Not managing the most talented of Pakistan sides
Managing a difficult side, always tough to captain Pakistan
Had to cope with many coach changes
Had to cope with many chairman changes
Had to cope with many selector changes
Had to cope with pressures of replacing Afridi as ODI captain
Had to cope with many unpleasant media agendas
Did it at 36-40 years of age
Hardly any experienced players when he started; Yousuf, Kaneria booted out
His own performance levels while doing it
Distinct lack of quality Pakistan captains before him

23 50+ in last 40 international innings
24 50+ in last 47 Test innings
17 50+ in last 34 ODI innings
52 50+ since October 2010
Highest ODI average by Pak player (min 100 games)
Ranked in the top 10 in both formats
Highest average by Pak player in ODI winning chases
5th highest Test average by a Pakistan player
Highest Test batting average by a Pakistan Captain over 27 Tests
Most 50+ in Tests+ODIs by Pakistan Captain
Leading run scorer for team in 3 ICC tournaments: 2007, 2011, 2013
3rd leading international run scorer in 2011
2nd leading international run scorer in 2013
50s scored against all Test playing nations
Most 50+ in an ODI calendar year ever in 2013 with 15

In short, Pakistan's second best captain

POINT 3

Under Misbah's Captaincy, Pakistan won the most ODIs they have won in a calendar year ever
24 in 2011
During that year Misbah averaged 54
9 50s in 26 innings
2 Man of the Match awards
ICC Cricketer of the Year nominee 2011

Under Misbah's Captaincy, Pakistan won the most ODI series they have won in a calendar year ever
7 in 2013
During that year Misbah averaged 50+
15 50s in 32 innings
5 Man of the Match awards
ICC ODI player of the Year nominee 2013

Under Misbah's Captaincy Pakistan won the most internationals they won in a calendar year across all formats
34 in 2011
During that year Misbah averaged 50+ in both formats
17 50+ across both formats
3 Man of the Match awards
ICC Cricketer of the Year Nominee 2011