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Hashim Amla and Younis Khan : Who is the better Test batsman?

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YK averages around 54 and Amla about 50 but some would argue that the latter has played in more difficult conditions in his career and has more memorable knocks.

Who do you think has been the better test batsman according to you?
 
Amla.

Unless Younis miraculously scores in Australia heavily, Amla is a bigger test player.

The fluency with which he scored in England is something Younis cannot match. Yeah ok he flopped in India this last time where Younis made his career, still I'd say Amla.
 
Amla for me and its that exact reason, he's scored more matching winning knocks. But if Younis Khan does have a tremendous series in Australia then he could be considered more of a serious contender.
 
Suleiman said:
Amla.

Unless Younis miraculously scores in Australia heavily, Amla is a bigger test player.

The fluency with which he scored in England is something Younis cannot match. Yeah ok he flopped in India this last time where Younis made his career, still I'd say Amla.
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It's very unfair for Younis Khan to determine his overall career on these two series at this age(his real age is 42), when Amla is struggling at 33.
 
shah_1 said:
It's very unfair for Younis Khan to determine his overall career on these two series at this age(his real age is 42), when Amla is struggling at 33.
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But then again, unlike Amla he's had it incredibly easy on UAE pitches for about 5 years, beating hapless attacks on the flattest of tracks.

UAE has probably helped him pad his stats the most. Can't complain as a Pak supporter though as it contributed to our wins
 
shah_1 said:
It's very unfair for Younis Khan to determine his overall career on these two series at this age(his real age is 42), when Amla is struggling at 33.
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He did have time in past. Didn't he?
 
Amla

He looks more comfortable out of his comfort zone compared to Younis. And also Amla has literally scored runs everywhere. Amla is a better player of pace than Younis.

So amla wins this one for me.
 
Statsman said:
Would be interesting to know your opinions in a bit more detail.
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Apart from Sangakkara, Amla is the most complete Test batsman of this era. He is quality against pace, swing, seam, spin, bounce etc.

Younis is only great against spin.
 
Amla for me, it is a close one though but Amla has a triple in England, a 250 and 100s in both inns in India, a ~200 in Aus and he has played home games in SA where even Graeme Smith the PP ATG avged only 34 against top 6 sides.
 
Statsman said:
Would be interesting to know your opinions in a bit more detail.
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Younis has scored runs against everyone and everywhere over the better part of two decades, what's there to argue? Amla has had holes in his CV every now and then.

I admit Amla has had a stellar ODI career so on that basis you can rate him ahead overall, but Younis for me in a test team.
 
unfair comparison. younis has never had a chance to fill his boots in places like australia and south africa
 
I don't get why Pakistanis discredit their own batsmen just because they're Pakistani.

We know that both Younis and Amla have played numerous tests in a rainbow of conditions.

Younis - 110 tests - 9663 runs @ 53.98
Amla - 95 tests - 7471 runs @ 50.47

And the former is still churning them out at the age of 40+.
 
Amla is an ATG, no questions about it.
And I rate him as one of the best number 3's of all time.
Not as defensively sound as a Dravid, but compact enough. Not as aggressive as a Ponting but devastating enough.
He's a hybrid of the two, can play a long innings to save an innings. In return he can be offensive enough to win a Test.
A good player of pace, spin and swing. I dare say he's more complete of the two. Both Ponting and Dravid lacked something, Amla doesn't.
If he maintains his form and versatility to 10K runs, then he'll easily be the best no.3 of the last 20 years if not the best ever.
 
Varun said:
I don't get why Pakistanis discredit their own batsmen just because they're Pakistani.

We know that both Younis and Amla have played numerous tests in a rainbow of conditions.

Younis - 110 tests - 9663 runs @ 53.98
Amla - 95 tests - 7471 runs @ 50.47

And the former is still churning them out at the age of 40+.
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Believe me, we don't.
 
Ab Fan said:
No..I find him just an accumulator.That's it.

KP is England best bat in last 10 years and Root is their current best and has potential to surpass both..
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KP is overrated, I'd say he is worse than AB. Consistency and patience are important in Tests and Cook has lots of both.
 
Adijazz1706 said:
KP is overrated, I'd say he is worse than AB. Consistency and patience are important in Tests and Cook has lots of both.
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Cook doesn't have consistency.

KP has performed against strongest bowling attacks like McGrath,Warne, Murali, Steam and has played one of the best knocks on a rank turner by an overseas batsmen.

Cook,on other hand, has struggled against most of the quality pacers going around.Heck, even half good a bowler Amir as he is now got some moments vs Cook if not for dropped catches.

KP ,if not for his inconsistency , is an ATG and at par with the likes of David/Kallis.Its his inconsistency which puts him behind them.
 
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YK has played some clutch innings, but what puts Amla slightly ahead for me is, he is one of very few non Asian players who can give a contest to YK, when it comes to play spin, but the opposite is not true. Also, aesthetically, it's not even a contest.

However, just like I wrote in Amla-Kumar thread, Hashim is declining fast at just 33. At this rate, by the time he reaches Sanga's age, he'll be few levels lower. In contrary, what YK did in last 3/4 years is remarkable.
 
Hashim Amla, without a shadow of doubt, he is far more accomplished in playing seamers and spinners alike. Younis khan to his credit is a phenomenal player of spin and has incredible ability to convert his starts.
 
Hashim Amla is only second to Sangakarra in the last decade as test batsman, brilliant batsman in all conditions. However, I think Younis has a greater stature as a test batsman due to longevity and consistency.
 
Yk is competing with Moyo.

Hashim is competing with Test greats of THE GAME!
 
YK is only good against spin when he averages 50+ in England, 65+ in New Zealand and 43 in Australia(hopefully he maintains that).
 
Amla can do whatever YK can do, reverse is not true.

Last 10 years performance when you take away and neutral(that will include UAE for YK)

last 10.jpg

This record has 43 innings in UAE for YK at average of 58 included here.

---------

Now if we remove the neutral venues and only see home of oppositions.

last 10 away.jpg

Clearly, Amla has been head and shoulder above YK in the last 10 years. I don't think that any batsman did as well as Amla in the test format in the last 10 years when you consider the ability to score runs against everyone and everywhere. Pitting YK agaisnt Amla is a bit unfair to YK here.
 
Amla
Clearly, Amla has been head and shoulder above YK in the last 10 years. I don't think that any batsman did as well as Amla in the test format in the last 10 years when you consider the ability to score runs against everyone and everywhere. Pitting YK agaisnt Amla is a bit unfair to YK here and he looks more comfortable out of his comfort zone compared to Younis. Amla is a better player of pace than Younis.
 
Both will end their careers as ATGs but Amla will be rightfully rated higher. Similar to the Sachin vs Kallis (the batsman) debate with Amla being the Sachin of this comparison.
 
Would take Amla any day as he can bat against pace at least and doesn't have to rely on spinners for scoring runs.
 
Mamoon said:
Apart from Sangakkara, Amla is the most complete Test batsman of this era. He is quality against pace, swing, seam, spin, bounce etc.

Younis is only great against spin.
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Who do you rate higher Sanga or Amla?

I would say Sanga due to his consistency and excellence in all 3 formats.

Amla is good in Tests and ODI's but not quite up there in T20's.
 
Buffet said:
Amla can do whatever YK can do, reverse is not true.

Last 10 years performance when you take away and neutral(that will include UAE for YK)

View attachment 70537

This record has 43 innings in UAE for YK at average of 58 included here.

---------

Now if we remove the neutral venues and only see home of oppositions.

View attachment 70538

Clearly, Amla has been head and shoulder above YK in the last 10 years. I don't think that any batsman did as well as Amla in the test format in the last 10 years when you consider the ability to score runs against everyone and everywhere. Pitting YK agaisnt Amla is a bit unfair to YK here.
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Amla is a better batsman but you should also consider that Younis is much older than Amla and Younis did not get as many chances as Amla to play in Australia and England.
 
The_Odd_One said:
Younis did not get as many chances as Amla to play in Australia and England.
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It's true for Aus, but not that much for Eng. Amla has played 2 test series ( 7 tests ) in Eng. YK has played 3 test series ( 9 tests). Agree about this old age, but we can only go by whatever output they have given. I personally have no hesitation in picking even AB over YK and I consider Amla better than AB in the test format.
 
msb314 said:
Who do you rate higher Sanga or Amla?

I would say Sanga due to his consistency and excellence in all 3 formats.

Amla is good in Tests and ODI's but not quite up there in T20's.
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Sangakkara.
 
Younus Khan is the best Test batsman in the world, after winning the series for his team in Australia, he will become an ATG.
 
How one sided.

This doesn't include 7 years plus of missing home tests for YK. UAE is as you have described correctly, neutral. Last time YK played a test at home he made 300. Sure, batting friendly dead pitches, but the question is comparing the players overall - not just their neutral and away records. So YK wins this for me easily for longevity, lack of support, and playing in a weaker team.
 
intothevoid said:
How one sided.

This doesn't include 7 years plus of missing home tests for YK. UAE is as you have described correctly, neutral. Last time YK played a test at home he made 300. Sure, batting friendly dead pitches, but the question is comparing the players overall - not just their neutral and away records. So YK wins this for me easily for longevity, lack of support, and playing in a weaker team.
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You can given UAE Tests any label you want - home, neutral etc., but it doesn't change the fact that UAE pitches are absolute roads and Younis has really filled his boots on those wickets.

He has also been helped by the fact that in the last 7-8 years, he has only toured SA and England twice and his last tour of Australia 12 years ago.

He is very inconsistent away from home because his weaknesses are exposed. He failed in all but one innings in SA in 2013, and was an absolute disaster in England except the Oval innings, so playing in the UAE for 6 years and hardly playing overseas has helped him a lot.

Amla is simply a class above.
 
Varun said:
I don't get why Pakistanis discredit their own batsmen just because they're Pakistani.

We know that both Younis and Amla have played numerous tests in a rainbow of conditions.

Younis - 110 tests - 9663 runs @ 53.98
Amla - 95 tests - 7471 runs @ 50.47

And the former is still churning them out at the age of 40+.
Click to expand...

Wish he played for India, your fans seem to appreciate him more
 
People fail to ignore the fact that Younis is a beast everywhere in Asia.His numbers are great in India where the conditions aren't easy and you have some great Asian players like Sangakkara or Yousuf who have failed in India.

Sangakkara has a relatively better record outside Asia compared to Younis but he failed in India unlike Younis who has done well everywhere in subcontinent.

Let's not forget that Sangakkara also got to play on flat Lankan pitches where he piled on loads of runs and a good amount of them have come vs Ban and Zimbabwe.

IMO, Sangakkara is ahead but Younis isn't long distance behind him and hence can be termed as borderline ATG as of now.
 
Younis plays lateral movement like a tail-ender. The shot today was embarrassing to say the least.

Has never scored big against lateral movement. Good away record doesn't prove the former, because you get flat wickets away from home as well and he has cashed on them throughout his career.
 
Younis Khan, according to various interviews he's given through the years, was born in 1975 so he's 41. It's unfair to compare the current YK with a bloke in his early 30s.
 
Gabbar Singh said:
Younis Khan, according to various interviews he's given through the years, was born in 1975 so he's 41. It's unfair to compare the current YK with a bloke in his early 30s.
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It's down to who has had a better career, not who is better right now.

Amla is a class above Younis overall and although he has decline quite a bit, he is still much better against lateral movement.
 
Both in decline right now. You never know Amla might hang his boots before YK.
 
It's obvious Amla is a far more complete player than Younis.

Amla is feared all over the world in all conditions.

Some of you guys really kidding yourselves into thinking NZ fear Younis when he tours there?
 
Neither of the two are ATGs although Amla is a better odi player.
 
Amla is better because he averages 4 point less than Yunus as well as overall inferior stats . But as he is better against both pace and spin , so Amla is better.
P.s Amla has not played a meaningful innings in last 2 years .
 
Younis.

He used to score big, scored at consistent rate, scored when mattered and scored for a longer time of his career. He is an ATG in tests.

Amla is a great who was one of SA's biggest asset in winning them series away from home in some major countries.
 
Both are bonafide ATGs and as such, the difference between them is nonexistent. Easily among the three best test batsmen of their era, along with Sangakkara. If I was picking a 2010s' test team, Amla would bat at #3 and Younis would bat at #4 or #5.

Both have fantastic records all over the world, with Amla being especially brilliant against the big teams in their own backyards; averages 45 in Australia; 60 in England; 60 in India; and 70 in the UAE. Khan meanwhile, did something that many greats are unable to do so, score big hundreds away from home in the tail-end of their career. His 200 in England, 150 in Australia and 170 in Sri Lanka were scored when he was 35+ years of age.

Both of them have also dominated and bullied the best bowlers of their era and played countless match-winning and drawing innings and during their peak, were the best batsman of their side. It is no wonder that the new generation of cricketers is placing Amla and Younis in their all-time test XIs.

Amla, however, is a great ODI player as well and has even found success in the shortest format. Along with ABD and Kohli, he's been the best ODI batsman of his generation as well. That gives him the edge in this discussion but as far as the real format goes, there is nothing to separate between them. It has been a pleasure to watch both of them at the top of their game over the last decade.
 
Amla's career can be divided into three parts:-

2004-2009 Avgs 39.8
2010-2014 Avgs 65
2015-present Avgs 38.7
 
Younis has a 40+ average everywhere but SA and WI. But Amla's average is lower than 40 in NZ, SL, BAN, WI, PAK, and ZIM.
 
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