How highly do you rate Mohammad Yousuf?

[Suleiman]

In all seriousness a lot of people tried to hate on mid 2000s Pak couple years ago but now are beginning to realize its full value, but that side 2004-2009 would destroy any of the Pakistani sides from 2018 to present day.

Asif, Amir bowling, Inzi, MoYo, Younis and Misbah in the 2000s were solid ODI batsmen and went toe to toe with a star studded Indian line up in ODIs and tests with respectable results after the ODI and test series- and that is with Peak Dravid, Sehwag, Sachin, Dhoni, Laxman. No freebies in that line up.

Once YK and Misbah lost their ODI touch and felt obligated to tuk tuk and with the departure of MoYo and Inzi, the ODI batting almost crashed overnight by 2010-2011.

YK and Misbah were solid ODI batsmen up until 2009, they had it in em to up the ante.

Then you had Abdul Razzaq, Afridi completely losing their batting ability as well post 2009-2010. Abdul Razzaq after that absolute blinder and top 15 maybe top 10 ODI innings of all time in that chase vs SA couldn’t do much 2011 and beyond. Shoaib Malik iirc hadn’t done much after his ton vs India in the 2009 CT as well.

MoYo and Inzi in ODIs showed their class because unlike post 2009 YK and Misbah even amidst collapses they battled like pros and were a constant threat to opposition bowling. YK carried the torch from them in tests no doubt, and Misbah to an extent.

 

[sithb]

I don't think younis was ever a good odi batsman. He might have had a good couple of years in the 2000s as a odi batsman though.

 

[sithb]

but that side 2004-2009 would destroy any of the Pakistani sides from 2018 to present day.

Asif, Amir bowling, Inzi, MoYo, Younis and Misbah in the 2000s were solid ODI batsmen

Agree to disagree on Younis Khan ever being a good odi batsman but largely the rest of the post , I do agree with. I think the spot fixing scandal was the final nail in the coffin for that team.

Shoaib was there as well , as was Razzaq , kaneria , Afridi.

That 2003-2011 side should have done way better.

 

[Suleiman]

I don't think younis was ever a good odi batsman. He might have had a good couple of years in the 2000s as a odi batsman though.

Yes that was his best, by no means was he a world beater even then, but was still a reliable accumulator who pushed the game forward as long as you had in form Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Inzi, Or Shoaib Malik at the other end in form pushing the game forward.

Maybe his fans won’t like it, but he was basically Babar who needed someone at the other end being an aggressor. However once all those aggressors left or lost their form, he couldn’t be that guy.

 

[Rana]

In terms of quality and ability, I recon Yousuf was on the level of Root and Kane Williamson in Test cricket. Stats wise and longevity wise they are superior no doubt, I’m talking about sheer ability. I think most of the top experts from his time would argue Yousuf was Pakistan’s best ever Test batsman, better than Inzimam, Miandad and Younis. Stats wise it’s hard to argue though.

The guys better than Yousuf in his era:

Tendulkar
Ponting
Lara
Kallis
Dravid
Sangakara
Hayden

 

[sithb]

Yes that was his best, by no means was he a world beater even then, but was still a reliable accumulator who pushed the game forward as long as you had in form Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Inzi, Or Shoaib Malik at the other end in form pushing the game forward.

He seems to have done okay in ODIs from 2002-2008. I think teams found it easy to contain him and he didn't have the art of taking singles.

 

[sithb]

I think most of the top experts from his time would argue Yousuf was Pakistan’s best ever Test batsman, better than Inzimam, Miandad and Younis. Stats wise it’s hard to argue though.

Nope. Remove that one calender year where he scored those 1800 odd runs. Basically a freak year and he doesn't come across as a batsman who's even on par with inzy , Miandad , Younis.

He'll be a misbah level batsman

 

[Rana]

Ability wise, Yousuf was a far better player of swing/seam conditions than Inzimam and Younis. I remember this vividly. He knew how to bide his time and build his innings. He also had a much stronger backfoot game than Younis did. Younis on the other hand was a better marathon batter, by that I mean he sometimes knuckled down and totally dominated the game on flatter decks beating opponents into submission.

 

[Rana]

He'll be a misbah level batsman

That’s one of the stupidest things I’ve read here.

Sorry, no.

 

[sithb]

Yousuf might be having a better batting technique than Younis or Inzy. But batsmen are rated for what they contributed.

If you remove the one year where he averaged 99 , his stats show him as a 45 average player.

Likes of Inzy , Younis were far more consistent for a far longer time.

 

[Rana]

Yousuf might be having a better batting technique than Younis or Inzy. But batsmen are rated for what they contributed.

If you remove the one year where he averaged 99 , his stats show him as a 45 average player.

Likes of Inzy , Younis were far more consistent for a far longer time.

This is absurd

So we just casually ignore his 1800 run calendar year so it makes you happy to argue that he’s a Misbah level batter?

I don’t think you’ve ever seen him play by the looks of it!

 

[sithb]

2000s

This is absurd

So we just casually ignore his 1800 run calendar year so it makes you happy to argue that he’s a Misbah level batter?

I don’t think you’ve ever seen him play by the looks of it!

I have seen him bat. The point is that he just isn't consistent except the one outlier year. And consistency matters.

You are rating his one good year way too highly whereas I'm seeing his entire career.

You can't be calling him Pakistan's best test batsman when he's had one very good year. A batting average of 52 in the 2000s-2012s (the era or roads) means just that. It's in that era where there are loads of people who averaged 50. The likes of Sanga averaged 58 etc or even more. Younis averages around that as well.

The likes of Hanif, Javed, Inzy, Younis, zaheer were far better batsmen in tests.

 

[Rana]

Even right now you can get Yousuf to put the pads on, and he will churn out an average of 40ish in Test cricket…and will be better than Babar Azam in this format.

Thats how good he was. Quality wise, the guy was born to bat. God gifted player!

 

[sithb]

Even right now you can get Yousuf to put the pads on, and he will churn out an average of 40ish in Test cricket…and will be better than Babar Azam in this format.

Thats how good he was. Quality wise, the guy was born to bat. God gifted player!

I don't deny that he was a very good batsman. Technique wise , he's up there with the best. But his performances and consistency weren't upto the mark.

 

[msb314]

Not at all. Given the crap we have churned out after his retirement, Yousaf's stock has only gone up in the last 10-15 years.

I still hold ICC tournaments performances in higher regard than bilaterals… even in that era.

But I agree that his quality was significantly better than our current lot today. Even Azhar Ali and Asad Shafique could not hold a candle to him….

 

[Katwalindian]

This is absurd to rank players like this....everyone has best and worst days....on his best day he may be best batsman on planet

 

[Local.Dada]

Younis was crap in ODI's. One can make the argument that Younis was a better test batsman than Yousaf but Yousaf has a very respectable recorded in both Tests and ODI's and hence his stock should be higher than Younis.

Tests is the absolute benchmark. For example

Rounding off their runs


Gavaskar- 10000 odd test runs, nearly 3000 odi runs.
Azharuddin- nearly 7000 test runs, nearly 10000 odi runs.
VVS Laxman- nearly 9000 test runs, 2000
Odd odi runs

Would you say Azharuddin is a greater bat than Gavaskar?

Even in a packed Indian all time test X1, chance of VVS getting ahead of Azhar as well.

Apply the same principle. Younis 10000 test runs hold a lot of value and his performance or lack of it in Odis is a bonus or an outlier.

 

[TheSultan]

In that case I will give gloves to Hanif and put Yousuf or Azhar in side

Azhar? Azharuddin?

 

[Honestly]

Azhar? Azharuddin?

Azhar Ali

 

[Savak]

Tests is the absolute benchmark. For example

Rounding off their runs


Gavaskar- 10000 odd test runs, nearly 3000 odi runs.
Azharuddin- nearly 7000 test runs, nearly 10000 odi runs.
VVS Laxman- nearly 9000 test runs, 2000
Odd odi runs

Would you say Azharuddin is a greater bat than Gavaskar?

Even in a packed Indian all time test X1, chance of VVS getting ahead of Azhar as well.

Apply the same principle. Younis 10000 test runs hold a lot of value and his performance or lack of it in Odis is a bonus or an outlier.

I don't agree. Tests are a different format to ODI's. Very few players can master all formats. The biggest stain on Younis's legacy is his failure in the ODI format. He cost Pakistan very badly in the 2011 ODI WC and 2015 ODI WC and even worse, he used his influence to force the selectors to pick him in the 2015 ODI WC squad when he didn't merit selection. The fact Younis failed in ODI's means he failed to deal with scoreboard, run rate pressure and he could not adapt his game to the ODI format. The gap between Younis and Yousaf is not that massive in test matches but the gap between Younis and Yousaf is great in the ODI format. Balancing both, Yousaf ranks higher than Younis because he did well in two formats vs one. Yousaf also beats Younis when it comes to the eye test. Its the same reason why Zaheer Abbas is ranked highly even though he himself is accused of being a softie and someone who went missing under pressure.