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Younis Khan or Mohammad Yousuf in Tests?

Younis Khan or Mohammad Yousuf?

  • Total voters
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I think there is already a thread on this.

For me Yousuf > Younis in tests. Unpopular opinion here i know.

Test + odis combined Yousuf >> Younis
 
I would pay to watch Yousuf but I won't pay to watch Younis, having said that it does not make Younis an inferior batsman he has achieved more than Yousuf in tests but wasn't aesthetically pleasing..
 
No matter how many statistics someone throws at my face, I will not take Younis over MoYo in any format. Statistically speaking, all of the records that Younis now holds would have been MoYo's had he not wasted 5-6 years from 2007 onwards. He should have been a regular till 2013-14, but only played sporadically due to reasons that go beyond the scope of this thread.
 
Yousuf was a massive choker who for years was criticised by fans as an FTB. You can count the number of pressure knocks he played on one hand.

It was only from 2006 onward he finally maximised his potential. Even then he could've continued for another couple of years but his fitness was poor.

I was a big supporter of Yousuf, one of the most aesthetically pleasing batsman we've produced, but he doesn't compare with Inzamam, Miandad or Younis Khan who delivered time and again in pressure situations.
 
Younis Khan.Yousuf choked in all the important situations.He could never have played an innings like Younis' in Pallekele 2015.
 
Mamoon said:
No matter how many statistics someone throws at my face, I will not take Younis over MoYo in any format. Statistically speaking, all of the records that Younis now holds would have been MoYo's had he not wasted 5-6 years from 2007 onwards. He should have been a regular till 2013-14, but only played sporadically due to reasons that go beyond the scope of this thread.
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Immaculate cover drive.

I don't know what it is, even the Pakistani greats, simply seem to never live up to their potential except for maybe the bowlers. As great as Yousuf was, I truly believe he could have been more.
 
Ilan Bluestone said:
Immaculate cover drive.

I don't know what it is, even the Pakistani greats, simply seem to never live up to their potential except for maybe the bowlers. As great as Yousuf was, I truly believe he could have been more.
Click to expand...

(off-topic)
A curse for Pakistani cricketers.

Imran Khan: Lost years of his prime to injury (150-250 wickets)
Wasim Akram: Diabetes and lot of dropped dollies
Waqar: Lost his absolute prime to back injury
Shoaib: Whole career was injuries
Asif: Breaks my heart
Amir: He is back and hopefully will win us many series Insha'Allah
 
Yousuf was a dud outside Asia except England.

But still was way bettee against pace than Younis. Yousuf is ahead.
 
Mamoon said:
No matter how many statistics someone throws at my face, I will not take Younis over MoYo in any format. Statistically speaking, all of the records that Younis now holds would have been MoYo's had he not wasted 5-6 years from 2007 onwards. He should have been a regular till 2013-14, but only played sporadically due to reasons that go beyond the scope of this thread.
Click to expand...

I will take misbah over yousuf
 
Hawkeye said:
Yousuf was a dud outside Asia except England.

But still was way bettee against pace than Younis. Yousuf is ahead.
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Not sure how you can claim he way better against pace.

Yousuf averaged 31 in Australia and 26 in South Africa. Younis averages 50 in Australia and 32 in South Africa.

Younis outperformed Yousuf in the 2004-05 Australia tour against McGrath, Gillespie and Kasprowicz. He was our highest scorer in that horrible Perth Test match.

He was our highest scorer on a bouncy pitch at Old Trafford against Steve Harmison in 2006 whilst Yousuf went missing.
 
Ilan Bluestone said:
Immaculate cover drive.

I don't know what it is, even the Pakistani greats, simply seem to never live up to their potential except for maybe the bowlers. As great as Yousuf was, I truly believe he could have been more.
Click to expand...

He couldnt do that because He had a weird fitness issue. His mucles were always very stiff. That is why despite being natural strokemaker, he used to take lot of time to adjust in the beginning of his innings. Watch his interview with wasim akram
 
Here are Yousuf's averages against 3 proper Test playing teams, 2 of them (Australia and South Africa) having the best bowling attacks of his time -

vs Aus - 29.61

vs South Africa - 29.75

vs Sri Lanka - 29


That's not just pathetic, but downright embarrassing.



Next, his pathetic and embarrassing averages in 4 major Test playing countries -

in Aus - 31.88

in South Africa - 26.10

in India - 33.73

in Sri Lanka - 33.80



Can anyone still in their right mind pick Yousuf over Younis? Younis Khan was the man, far, far ahead of Yousuf in every department in Test cricket.
 
And before someone says that cricket isn't played on paper, those numbers aren't written against the name of a player unless he actually achieves it on the ground. It's true that numbers don't tell the whole story, but Yousuf's mind blowing pathetic numbers I posted above can never be denied by anyone with an unbiased mind.

Good stats can be a bit misleading, average stats can be a bit misleading, but exceptionally good stats or embarrassingly poor stats can never be misleading.
 
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If we were playing an exhibition game - Yousuf

If we were playing a game that actually counted for something - Younis
 
TQ89 said:
He couldnt do that because He had a weird fitness issue. His mucles were always very stiff. That is why despite being natural strokemaker, he used to take lot of time to adjust in the beginning of his innings. Watch his interview with wasim akram
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Weird fitness issue :))

The issue was he had no athletic ability :))
 
Yousaf if you are looking for style over substance and younis for substance over style, ideally a combo of both, and that combo would be better than anything the cricketing world has ever seen.
 
Big Mac said:
Weird fitness issue :))

The issue was he had no athletic ability :))
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Yeah even shoaib akhtar was making fun of yousuf' on a geo super show i saw a long time ago. He used to say that Yousuf would spent more time on the massage table than the nets due to stiffness. At the end masseurs would give up & say "Sir, taanu aag na la daye. Shayd tade pathe khul jan". Still makes me laugh
 
Yousuf was great for 1 season. Younis was great for multiple seasons. Younis is mentally tougher and played better innings. He is not just the better of the two, but the greatest from our country.
 
Both. Not One.


When you have only 4-5 players averaging 49 plus in Test Cricket in a History of 70 years than atleast 3 of them should make your Test eleven.

Since Yousuf & Younis were from same generation and Inzanam also played with them for good odd 7-9 years so I would have all 3 of them in my playing eleven.


Aesthetically & skillwise for me Yousuf for me is superior than Inzamam & Younis. Before 2004 for me Inzamam was superior.


Yousuf's peak was very very enjoyable as a fan. Absolutely marvellous it was.


Yousuf had his role in not playing for Pakistan for 5 more years. As a fan and supporter it was very disheartening but PCB had a bigger role in this debacle. The Ego of PCB was bigger than Yousuf's ego. Yousuf did not focus much on his fitness in last 1 year of his Int Cricket but once he was dropped he started following Hashim Amla's professionalism. (Yes I know this quite well)


Once his knee injury healed he should have been informed by PCB to go back to domestic Cricket prove form & fitness and you will be back but Yousuf's Ego was big while PCB's Ego was huge.(Pathetic)


Yousuf was no Symonds. I would say he was better than KP aswell when it comes to discipline and attitude but He should have been managed. Pcb failed.


As far as overall performances go than I agree with [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] bhaee's Posts. Now we have to analyse entire career's and Younis despite his limited skillset delivered much better overseas. Younis did have a higher % of pressure match winning knocks and Series defining innings. So I will go with Younis Khan overall.


Yousuf or Zaheer could have achieved much more than Younis but for me Pakistan's Greatest Test Match Batsman is Younis Khan. (Even if his average drops behind Miandad & Yousuf)
 
SarfiBabarHaris said:
I think there is already a thread on this.

For me Yousuf > Younis in tests. Unpopular opinion here i know.

Test + odis combined Yousuf >> Younis
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also there should be extra negative points for Younis in odis.
probably the worst odi player considering the no of matches he played. 250+ odis of absolute mediocrity. Even worse than Afridi.
 
Though i would give 2 things to Younis.
World class player of spin and v.good in pressure.
His record in 3rd and 4th innings also attest this when the conditions are dead for fast bowlers and he thrives because of his quality of absorbing pressure combined with playing spin.
 
Markhor said:
Not sure how you can claim he way better against pace.

Yousuf averaged 31 in Australia and 26 in South Africa. Younis averages 50 in Australia and 32 in South Africa.

Younis outperformed Yousuf in the 2004-05 Australia tour against McGrath, Gillespie and Kasprowicz. He was our highest scorer in that horrible Perth Test match.

He was our highest scorer on a bouncy pitch at Old Trafford against Steve Harmison in 2006 whilst Yousuf went missing.
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You're right that statistically, YK is ahead - he'd be ahead than most other prominent bats too, statistically he's better than the likes of Kohli even.

I enjoyed watching MoYo bat, and YK was hopping around in an embarrassing way against pace on these latest overseas tours.

YK is probably ahead in terms of performances, but I wouldn't pay to watch YK bat.
 
Yousuf is a nothing cricketer. Not even fit to tie Younis khan's boots.

Tests or odis,he is what Amla is to odis and hence, has no legacy as a cricketer.

Its a shame that guys who moan about match winning ability of a player or performing in tough conditions rate a guy like Yousuf who also is a FTB, terrible leader and terrible human being with a lack of knowledge of what and how to speak and where.
 
Ab Fan said:
Yousuf is a nothing cricketer. Not even fit to tie Younis khan's boots.

Tests or odis,he is what Amla is to odis and hence, has no legacy as a cricketer.

Its a shame that guys who moan about match winning ability of a player or performing in tough conditions rate a guy like Yousuf who also is a FTB, terrible leader and terrible human being with a lack of knowledge of what and how to speak and where.
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Oh please, younis selfish khan was one of the worst humans to have played for pakistan his selfishness lost us numerous matches but his blackmailing enabled him to play odis again and again. Yousaf didn't have several home series in UAE like selfish team man khan
 
Younis with Yousaf's talent, Yousaf with Younis's work ethic and fitness.
 
Comparing Yousuf with Younis is like comparing Mahela with Sanga.

I do not even have to dig into their stats. Yousuf was done as a batsman in 2009. Managed just 1 century in his last 7 test series in 17 tests! In his last 3 test series in NZ, Australia, and England, he did not manage to score a single century in 8 tests.

With his poor fitness and abysmal work ethics, he was not going to magically start piling on runs. Both Sanga and Younis were exceptional cases, two cricketers with terrific fitness. No wonder, they did so well in the later stages of their careers.
 
The_Odd_One said:
Comparing Yousuf with Younis is like comparing Mahela with Sanga.

I do not even have to dig into their stats. Yousuf was done as a batsman in 2009. Managed just 1 century in his last 7 test series in 17 tests! In his last 3 test series in NZ, Australia, and England, he did not manage to score a single century in 8 tests.

With his poor fitness and abysmal work ethics, he was not going to magically start piling on runs. Both Sanga and Younis were exceptional cases, two cricketers with terrific fitness. No wonder, they did so well in the later stages of their careers.
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In those 17 tests Yousaf scored plenty of 50's, 90's and one 90 plus runs he came in at no 3 vs NZ bowlers on a green top. He may not have had centuries but he was not done as a batsman. Waqar used his youngster crusade and ruined Yousaf's career
 
Savak said:
In those 17 tests Yousaf scored plenty of 50's, 90's and one 90 plus runs he came in at no 3 vs NZ bowlers on a green top. He may not have had centuries but he was not done as a batsman. Waqar used his youngster crusade and ruined Yousaf's career
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50s are scored by batsmen like Shane Watson in tests and not Ricky Ponting. No matter how you look at it, 1 century in 17 tests is an extremely poor record for a #4 batsman.

In NZ, Australia, and England, he did not manage to score a single century. 40 years old Younis played one great inning each in Australia and England.

Yousuf was the most spineless 50+ averaging batsman I have ever watched. Even Ijazz Ahmed, a far inferior batsman, has showed more guts.
 
I will take younis over yousuf in test just because of younis supreme fitness.. yousuf was pleasing but was a burden on the field.. younis just because of his fitness was an extremely good fielder.. can make big scores.
If only Yousuf had worked on his fitness he would have played till 2013 atleast.
 
The_Odd_One said:
50s are scored by batsmen like Shane Watson in tests and not Ricky Ponting. No matter how you look at it, 1 century in 17 tests is an extremely poor record for a #4 batsman.

In NZ, Australia, and England, he did not manage to score a single century. 40 years old Younis played one great inning each in Australia and England.

Yousuf was the most spineless 50+ averaging batsman I have ever watched. Even Ijazz Ahmed, a far inferior batsman, has showed more guts.
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Younis Khan did not have a single century in Australia prior to his final series. Yousaf has a century against Mcgrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz and Warne. You can't be a 50 plus averaging batsman and a spineless batsman at the same time. The same Yousaf has centuries against Walsh and Ambrose as well

And in the final England Series Yousaf played in, it was the toughest batting conditions that a Pakistani side ever experienced, even then Yousaf when he got his opportunity scored a 50 in tough batting conditions on his first innings of the series.
 
Mamoon said:
No matter how many statistics someone throws at my face, I will not take Younis over MoYo in any format. Statistically speaking, all of the records that Younis now holds would have been MoYo's had he not wasted 5-6 years from 2007 onwards. He should have been a regular till 2013-14, but only played sporadically due to reasons that go beyond the scope of this thread.
Click to expand...

Here is something without statistics.

Moyo was one of the biggest bottlers we ever had - great on piling on the soft runs but when the pressure he was on - he was the first to dissapear (even in Asian conditions).

YK has no such issues.
 
WhenSultansBowled said:
(off-topic)
A curse for Pakistani cricketers.

Imran Khan: Lost years of his prime to injury (150-250 wickets)
Wasim Akram: Diabetes and lot of dropped dollies
Waqar: Lost his absolute prime to back injury
Shoaib: Whole career was injuries
Asif: Breaks my heart
Amir: He is back and hopefully will win us many series Insha'Allah
Click to expand...

Not only injuries but Akhtar himself was to blame for a lot of his issues.

Horrible, horrible discipline - one of the worst players in that regard and makes UA, Kammy etc. look like saints :facepalm:

From hitting Asif, to slapping Woolmer, failed drug tests, criticizing PCB in public, not following instructions etc. the list just goes on and on.
 
msb314 said:
Here is something without statistics.

Moyo was one of the biggest bottlers we ever had - great on piling on the soft runs but when the pressure he was on - he was the first to dissapear (even in Asian conditions).

YK has no such issues.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me? I can list many occasions b/w 2010 and 2017 when YK went missing when the pressure was on and when he being the senior most batsman in the team went missing.

Runs against Ambrose, Walsh, Mcgrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz, Warne, Harmison, Hoggard are hardly what you consider soft.
 
Savak said:
Younis Khan did not have a single century in Australia prior to his final series. Yousaf has a century against Mcgrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz and Warne. You can't be a 50 plus averaging batsman and a spineless batsman at the same time. The same Yousaf has centuries against Walsh and Ambrose as well

And in the final England Series Yousaf played in, it was the toughest batting conditions that a Pakistani side ever experienced, even then Yousaf when he got his opportunity scored a 50 in tough batting conditions on his first innings of the series.
Click to expand...

When someone averages 35 in matches won, no further proof is needed to assert how spineless they were.

Ijazz has 3 centuries in Australia, I guess he was then better than both Younis and Yousuf.
 
Hawkeye said:
Yousuf was a dud outside Asia except England.

But still was way bettee against pace than Younis. Yousuf is ahead.
Click to expand...

Bro MoYo was a dud in Asia too.

Just look at his average in SL and India :facepalm:

Had great footwork and could play swing bowling with ease but struggled surprisingly against spin and bounce - not to mention was a bottler.

YK ahead for me.
 
Savak said:
Are you kidding me? I can list many occasions b/w 2010 and 2017 when YK went missing when the pressure was on and when he being the senior most batsman in the team went missing.

Runs against Ambrose, Walsh, Mcgrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz, Warne, Harmison, Hoggard are hardly what you consider soft.
Click to expand...

Yes every player will go missing from time to time when the pressure is on but YK more than often turned up for the party.

From his century against SAF on a day 5 pitch in 2010 to his hundred against SAF at Newlands to his 171 vs SL at Pakellele and his double hundred at the Oval when the series was on the line. The list is pretty good.
 
The_Odd_One said:
When someone averages 35 in matches won, no further proof is needed to assert how spineless they were.

Ijazz has 3 centuries in Australia, I guess he was then better than both Younis and Yousuf.
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Averages in wins is a very vague statement. It doesn't really say much in terms of what contributed to the wins, the bowling, the opposition set a low target, did someone else primarily contribute to the win?

I can list many examples where YK bottled things and did not deliver as per what is expected of a 50 plus averaging batsman
 
msb314 said:
Yes every player will go missing from time to time when the pressure is on but YK more than often turned up for the party.

From his century against SAF on a day 5 pitch in 2010 to his hundred against SAF at Newlands to his 171 vs SL at Pakellele and his double hundred at the Oval when the series was on the line. The list is pretty good.
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That century against SA didn't contribute to a win, Yousaf has many such centuries. What about YK's failures in that England tour prior to that final test match due to which a series that was winnable turned out to be a draw? Younis Khan did not go missing from time to time, it was too frequently and his failures cost the Pakistani team many matches.
 
2012

First Sri Lanka Test Match

2013

First SA test match
Third SA test match

2013

First SA test match
Second SA test match

2013

Second SL test match (threw away his wicket which dented Pakistan's hopes of saving the match)

2014

First SL test match (second innings)
Second SL test match

2014

Third NZ test match (Second innings, first time YK was under pressure, he flopped against Boult and failed to save the test match which could have been drawn)

2015

Second Sri Lanka test match (Flopped)

2016

Second Test Match against England
Third Test Match against England

Both Test matches YK failed to perform at the level expected of the best and senior most batsman 50 plus averaging batsman in the side and this played a huge role in why Pakistan failed to win the series against England and had to settle for a draw instead

2016

Third test match against the WI (YK fails against the WI in second innings when for the first time in the series they were ahead and were putting pressure on Pakistan)

2016

First Test & Second Test match against NZ

Horrible series for YK who failed to perform and live up to the expectations of the performance that is reasonably expected from a 50 plus averaging senior most batsman in the side. His failures played a huge role in our first test series defeat vs NZ in NZ.

2016

First test match against Australia (threw away his wicket playing the reverse sweep in the second innings when he was set)

Second test match (flopped in both innings and wilted to the pressure in the second innings, did not perform upto the expectations of the senior most 50 plus averaging batsman and his failure played a huge role in why an easily drawable match ended up in defeat)

Third test match (Threw away his wicket in the second innings after a wonderful 175 in the first innings, but he threw away his wicket when the pressure was on him to replicate his first innings effort to help Pakistan draw the match)

These are all instances where Younis Khan flopped and his failures ended up costing Pakistan the matches badly. There is a reason why it was always mentioned alongside Younis Khan "He has made his customary one big score in the series, he will now go missing for the rest of the tour when it really mattered"

And lets not forget Younis Khan's wonderful showing in the WC 2015 in Australia and NZ where he was on paper the best batsman in the team and someone who was expected to show case his skills, experience in handling the bouncy pitches of Australia and NZ but he flopped miserably and his failures cost Pakistan the WC badly.

If Yousaf is a so called Bottler then i don't know what YK is.
 
Yousuf is at Mahela level and nothing more. He was slightly better than Mahela overseas but Mahela was a clutch player and showed up under pressure occasion.

Order wise:-

Sanga> Amla> KP> Younis > Cook> ABD/Clarke> Yousuf/Mahela/Warner
 
Broadly, they are both pretty much on the same level. Both good batsmen with boosted batting averages thanks to a lot of soft runs. At their peaks, i am quite certain Yousuf was a greater batting talent.
 
Savak said:
Younis Khan did not have a single century in Australia prior to his final series. Yousaf has a century against Mcgrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz and Warne. You can't be a 50 plus averaging batsman and a spineless batsman at the same time. The same Yousaf has centuries against Walsh and Ambrose as well

And in the final England Series Yousaf played in, it was the toughest batting conditions that a Pakistani side ever experienced, even then Yousaf when he got his opportunity scored a 50 in tough batting conditions on his first innings of the series.
Click to expand...

are you talking about the Oval match in 2010?
The first and only wicket of that series which was flat and most like a subcontinent wicket?
 
Younis.

No amount of style and elegance from Yousuf can beat a gritty match winning daddy hundred from Younis.

Younis is a far better match winner than Yousuf. Period.
 
Haha.. I know whom I gonna pick. Moyo averages a whopping 251 against Bangladesh.

Now, I am very well aware of the couple of hundred Moyo scored against Ambrose and Walsh in WI early on in his career. However, there is no point considering those fluke knocks he got against McGrath-Warne over a complete series. He failed in pretty much all of those series, home or away. Even Younis fluked his way with a 111 in Capetown against Steyn, Philander and Morkel in South African conditions.So, those fluke knocks dont mean much when you fail in every other inning.

Moyo was better than Younis outside Asia because he was brilliant in Eng, NZ and WI but he failed poorly in India and Sri Lanka as well outside of failing in Aus/SA. Just like Younis, Moyo also had luxury of playing on some really flat home pitches.

Overall, Younis is a level superior to Moyo in tests and the difference is big enough that we can leave out the ODI format for overall comparison sake.
 
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As a complete batsman, it is Yousuf, who is vastly underrated as an ODI batter. In tests, I will edge it to Younis Khan, who played the majority of his career in batting's toughest position, no. 3, and played numerous crucial, match saving or match winning knocks.

Yousuf did have that remarkable season in 2006...what a sight.
 
Between Inzy and Younis, I will pick Inzy though. Didnt followed much of Inzy in 90s but he did very well against Ambrose and Walsh all through his career, home and away. Dont see peak YK doing well against that attack.

And unlike Moyo, he has done very well in India and Sri Lanka as well. He was also a brilliant player under pressure, just like Younis.

Overall, Inzy > Younis > Yousuf.
 
Poll added! I went for Younis Khan, he's played some very quality innings under different types of situations all over the world! Mohammad Yousuf was definitely no mug himself though, both world class batsmen without a doubt.
 
Can't believe some people put Yousuf, the choker above YK.

It's just like Asad Shafiq. Plays good shots, but fails whenever the going gets tough.
 
The stats explain for themselves when it pertains to these two. For me, Younis Khan's toughness as a batsman is why I would give him the slightest edge over Mohammad Yousuf (not to say that Yousuf isn't tough as a batsman, it's just that Younis stands out more in regards to that).
 
Yousuf is arguably the greatest ever Pakistani batsman.
 
Younis khan has proven with his performances that hes pakistans best bat ever in tests. If astheticts and potential was the only category we looked at james vince is the best bat in England.
 
Ab Fan said:
Bhaijaan,

Javed Miandad
Inzamam-ul-haq
Younis Khan
Zaheer Abbas
Saeed Anwar
Misbah-ul-haq
Hanif Mohammad

That's 7 names.
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And all of them respectfully stand behind Mohammad Yousuf.

It is sad that MoYo did not fulfil his true potential. By far the greatest Pakistani batting talent and arguably their best ever.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
And all of them respectfully stand behind Mohammad Yousuf.

It is sad that MoYo did not fulfil his true potential. By far the greatest Pakistani batting talent and arguably their best ever.
Click to expand...

Greatest Pakistani talent means nothing. I would argue when it comes to impact and contributions towards the success of Pakistani cricket, each of them were better than Mohammad Yousuf.
 
^

No they weren’t.

Tests or ODIs, MoYo was a far greater batsmen than all of them.
 
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