Misbah was a member of the team that won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, two years after the defeat from the final in the previous tournament.

A late bloomer, Misbah was a middle-order batsman best known for his composure with the bat whilst also having the ability to be an aggressive big shot player when required.

On 4 April 2017, Misbah announced his retirement from all international cricket as well after the conclusion of West Indies tour.

[9][10] During his early days, Misbah played tape ball cricket for his hometown, but his parents insisted on him securing a good education and he completed a BSc in Faisalabad.

And at last Misbah led SNGPL to another victory in domestic list-A tournament, President's Cup against Rana Naved-ul-Hasan's WAPDA in final.

He made the decision to play in order to remain match fit for the upcoming Test Series with England in July 2016.

Misbah also enjoys the highest success percentage as captain in Pakistan Super League matches up till now.

[16] His knock of 161* against India at Bengaluru was named as the third-best Test Batting Performance of the year by ESPNcricinfo voters.

Misbah played an influential role in getting Pakistan to the 2011 World Cup semifinals under Shahid Afridi's captaincy.

After the loss against India at Mohali, Misbah faced criticism from fans and experts for playing too many dot balls in crucial overs.

After South Africa amassed a total of 517 with Graeme Smith hitting his 4th Test double and yet another century from the AB de Villiers, Pakistan were faltering for an embarrassing defeat.

At 70/4 Misbah came in and blitzed the South African bowling attack with a 197 run stand with the Asad Shafiq repeating the same stand the two had in the first test, Misbah scored 88 before trying to obliterate the part-time spinner Dean Elgar over cow corner but edged it straight to Jacques Kallis.

[23] In the third ODI, Ahmad Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi and Junaid Khan were all rested.

In 2014, he made a test century off of 56 deliveries against Australia in Abu Dhabi, equaling the fastest one of that time by Viv Richards.

He later explained during an interview that the celebration was meant as a tribute to the Military Boot Camp in Abbottabad where the team had attended an army style training session.

[27] During Pakistan's tour of India, Misbah scored two centuries and was named acting captain for an ODI due to Shoaib Malik's injury.

Earlier in 2010, after the Australia tour, he was dropped from all formats of the game and later was considering retiring if the selectors continue to ignore him.

[28] He was not considered for England tour where the spot-fixing saga happened due to which Salman Butt was banned, creating a captaincy hole in the team.

After the defeat in Twenty20 series against England in 2012 and criticism from former cricketers, Misbah stepped down as Pakistan's Twenty20 captain and Mohammad Hafeez was named his successor to lead the team in Twenty20.

[32] In 2013, Pakistan played bilateral series against South Africa, India, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka and they also participated in Champions Trophy.

Despite winning against India in India, away series lose against South Africa 3–2, win-less streak in Champions Trophy and winning against minnow Zimbabwe 2–1 and then again defeat in home series against South Africa in UAE 4–1 put huge criticism on Misbah's captaincy and his approach to the game.

Ex-Pakistani players were demanding a total renovation of Pakistan cricket, and Misbah was being criticized for his captaincy, slow batting and the defeat.

Several TV shows and notable personalities opposed this decision and demanded that Misbah should be sacked.

PCB chairman Shahryar Khan and ex-Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said that all credit should be given to Misbah for his leadership over the last six years.

However, after continuous international losses, notably Pakistan's exit from the 2016 ICC World Twenty20, PCB officials seriously considered asking him to return as ODI captain.

On 6 April 2017, Misbah finally announced his intentions to retire from all international cricket after the conclusion of West Indies tour.

[47] On 4 September 2019, Misbah was appointed as the head coach for Pakistan cricket team as well as chief selector on a 3-year contract.

[58] As of 2024 Misbah UL HAQ is part of PCB cricket technical committee alongside JUNIAD Zia and USMAN Tasleem After his retirement from cricket he became what he calls a ‘full time’ philanthropist by becoming the director of the Pakistan Children’s Heart Foundation (PCHF), an organization which provides financial assistance to children with congenital heart defect (CHD), as of 2019 helping to do some 1500 surgeries.