Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi (Urdu: مصباح الحق خان نیازی) (born May 28, 1974 at Mianwali) is a Pakistani cricketer and the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is a solid middle-order batsmen best known for his composure with the bat, whilst also having the ability to be an aggressive big shot player.

Misbah ul Haq has been called Mr. Sensible due to his cool, level-headed approach on the field. He has a masters degree in business administration from the University of Management and Technology, Lahore.

Misbah was initially noticed for his technique and his temperament in the Tri-nation tournament in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, as he scored two fifties in the three innings in which he played, however, over the next three Tests he played against Australia, he failed to score more than twenty runs and was soon dumped from the team. Having witnessed Pakistan being eliminated in the opening phase of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Misbah was part of the changes made to the team in the aftermath of these results, but failed to make much of an impact and was soon dropped again.

Born in November 1948, Najam Sethi (Urdu: نجم سیٹھی) is an award winning Pakistani journalist, editor, and media personality, is the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a Lahore based political weekly, and previously the editor of Daily Times and Daily Aajkal newspapers. Currently, he does a current-affairs program on Geo TV, Pakistan's most popular private news channel. He also owns Vanguard, a publishing house and a chain of bookstores.

He has been awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers. He and his publications have been in conflict with Pakistani governments on many occasions. He was part of the "London Group" of Pakistani leftists that supported an uprising in Balochistan in the 1970s.^{[citation needed]}

In May 1999, he was imprisoned for one month without trial. However, he was released after an international outcry.^{[citation needed]}

He served in President Farooq Leghari's interim cabinet as Adviser on Political Affairs and Accountability after the fall of Benazir Bhutto's second government. On November 25, 2009, in an email sent to Daily Times online edition subscribers, Sethi announced his resignation from The Daily Times. In addition to himself, Khaled Ahmed (Contributing Editor), Ejaz Haider (Op-Ed Editor) and other senior staff also resigned.^{[citation needed]}

Shoaib Akhtar (b. 13 August 1975) is a former Pakistani cricketer. Shoaib holds the record for being the fastest bowler in the history of international cricket, he made his Test debut in November 1997 and played his first One Day International four months later. He played on Pakistan's Cricket Team as an attack bowler.

He has been involved in several controversies during his career, often accused of not being a team player but his presence was always felt by the opponents. Akhtar was sent home during the Test match series in Australia in 2005 for alleged poor attitude. A year later, he was embroiled in a drug scandal after testing positive to a banned substance. However, the ban imposed on him was lifted on court appeal. In September 2007, Akhtar was banned for an indefinite period for his fight with Pakistan team mate and fast bowler Mohammad Asif. On 1 April 2008, Akhtar was banned for five years for publicly criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board. In October 2008, the Lahore High Court in Pakistan suspended the five year ban and Akhtar was selected in the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 Quadrangular Tournament in Canada. Pakistani judge, Rana Bhagwandas stated once that, Akhtar is a legend of Pakistan cricket. He retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup.

Dale Willem Steyn (pronounced /ˈsteɪn/) (born 27 June 1983) is a South African cricketer who plays in Test and One Day International cricket for South Africa. He has been the number one ranked Test bowler in the world for the past three years and achieved the 900+ points benchmark on 13th Nov 2011. Steyn plays domestic cricket in South Africa for Cape Cobras. He is a right-arm fast bowler, and bowls at speeds of around 145–150 km/h (his fastest being recorded at 156.2 km/h during the 2010 IPL, Bangalore Royal Challengers against Kolkata Knight Riders). Steyn holds the record for the fastest South African to reach 100 wickets in Test Match cricket, a feat he achieved on 2 March 2008. Steyn currently has the third best bowling strike rate of all time in Test match cricket (amongst bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 2500 deliveries), behind George Lohmann and Shane Bond. He achieved a tally of 78 wickets at the world class average of 16.24 in Season 2007/08 and was subsequently rewarded with the prestigious ICC 2008 Test Cricketer of the Year Award.

Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar (born 25 April 1982 in Luton, Bedfordshire), is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test debut in 2006 and one-day debut for England in 2007. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009. He has also played for Lions in South Africa.

Born in Luton to Indian Punjabi Sikh parents, he is the first Sikh to represent a nation other than India in Test cricket.^{[citation needed]} He wears a black patka (a smaller version of the full Sikh turban) while playing and training. He is a crowd favourite in England, and many fans have worn patkas and fake beards while watching him play.

During his early international career Panesar often received loud cheers whenever he came on to bat, bowl or field, the latter due to his history of less than skilful fielding. When first selected for England he was widely perceived as being a particularly inept batsman and fielder, which may have contributed to this reception; the TMS commentator Henry Blofeld once accidentally referred to him as Monty Python, a mistake possibly encouraged by his comic reputation. After early success in Test cricket, his results declined, leading to him losing his place in 2009, but his excellent county form saw him named a member of England's Ashes winning squad which toured Australia in 2010/11. After taking 69 wickets in the 2011 county season Panesar earned a recall for the series against Pakistan in the U.A.E.; he played in the second test - his first test appearance in over two and a half years.