"Younis Khan really motivated me and gave me a target for reducing my weight": Yasir Shah

[MenInG]

Yasir Shah speaking to the media:

"Its good if you have a quality spinner bowling alongside you, where we would each chip in with 1-2 wickets each as I used to do with Zulfiqar Babar; So in the same way that Nauman is bowling really well here; Whilst he has been bowling well in domestic cricket, the fact is that a player always gets nervous in his debut; But, Nauman has shown no sign of nerves and bowled well so we make a good pair; Sajid Khan may be sitting out this game but he is a good spinner, and has good variations which is good for Pakistan cricket and its good to see good performers in the side"

"We will do our best to come out tomorrow and get South Africa out as soon possible; It would be good for us to win this Test match and the series as we havent won a Test series in recent times - so we will put in our best efforts to win this series"

"I went in to bat at number 11 and it was my desire to stay at the crease for as long as I could and play alongside Nauman who was playing well; Younis Bhai always tells me that because I have scored a Test hundred then I need to challenge myself to play like that again, and do the same in bowling too; So I was trying to concentrate on my batting and when I came to the ground, I did some practice and also did a fair amount of work in the nets in the past few days too; Younis Bhai is always advising the players who come lower down the order as the runs they score are important for the team"

"I am trying to regain my rhythm and as you have seen, I topped the bowling for Pakistan where I got most wickets for my side; In New Zealand, I played one Test and took 3 wickets; So I have been performing well but obviously not in the way where I was taking 5-10 wickets in a game; I have worked hard on my fitness for this series where I have reduced 3-4 Kgs; In this regard, Younis Bhai has really motivated me, where he gave me a target for reducing my weight; So I have fulfilled the commitment I made to him, and you must be seeing that difference in my bowling as well as in my fielding"

"I speak to Mushy bhai about my bowling and also speak to Shane Warne via Twitter on the same matter; Saqlain Bhai has motivated me a lot when he was with us for 5 days"

"Compared to the first innings, there seems to more bounce now and its breaking as well - the pitch was comparatively a little slow in the first innings"

"You cannot take any player easy and their captain and others are still there; We will hope to bowl in the right places and get them out on as low a score as possible"

"Aiden Makram played well today against spin; Last time I played against him in South Africa, there wasnt much spin in the wicket as it supported fast-bowlers"

 

[Mir jibran]

Love you yas
I hope u get 400 test wickets

 

[Savak]

Lol so what are the PCB fitness trainers and nutritional staff really doing if a player is overweight and not fit? Also does Yasir really need YK to tell him the obvious? As a professional your fitness, your nutritional intake especially if you have been playing for the national side for a good 7 years is on you.

The PCB sadly likes to talk a lot but we all know that the players are allowed to get away with not being 100% fit. In contrast our neighbours have a zero tolerance policy for this nonsense no matter how good you are as a player with your skills.

 

[Ami]

3 to 4 kg...haha. He is lying.

 

[Bewal Express]

Why does a professional cricketer need to be told to get fit. The lack of professionalism is mind boggling

 

[adarsh_bang]

Not the first time that someone who's done well has thanked YK.
What a legend

 

[Yk313]

Good to hear that YK has helped the lower order/tail add to the tally of the runs. Guess we can say that our lower order batsmen have gradually improved their defensive game.

Not worth commenting on the weight thing and Yasir too should have realised the buffoon he came across as by mentioning it.

At the end of the day, Younus should not be judged on the marginal improvements of the tailenders alone. The fact that the openers have gone from poor to mediocre to abysmal in the span of three series is more worrying.

That and trying to teach Babar how to read spin out of the hand. Can't really teach him how to play it though... YK's own "technique" was based upon his reach/elasticity and was more or less singular to himself. Wouldn't recommend that to anyone, not even my own kids.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Lol so what are the PCB fitness trainers and nutritional staff really doing if a player is overweight and not fit? Also does Yasir really need YK to tell him the obvious? As a professional your fitness, your nutritional intake especially if you have been playing for the national side for a good 7 years is on you.

The PCB sadly likes to talk a lot but we all know that the players are allowed to get away with not being 100% fit. In contrast our neighbours have a zero tolerance policy for this nonsense no matter how good you are as a player with your skills.

To be fair, it took one Kohli to inspire Indian cricketers. YK can do the same. And YK, Misbah, even Moyo have terrific fitness for their age.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Good to hear that YK has helped the lower order/tail add to the tally of the runs. Guess we can say that our lower order batsmen have gradually improved their defensive game.

Not worth commenting on the weight thing and Yasir too should have realised the buffoon he came across as by mentioning it.

At the end of the day, Younus should not be judged on the marginal improvements of the tailenders alone. The fact that the openers have gone from poor to mediocre to abysmal in the span of three series is more worrying.

That and trying to teach Babar how to read spin out of the hand. Can't really teach him how to play it though... YK's own "technique" was based upon his reach/elasticity and was more or less singular to himself. Wouldn't recommend that to anyone, not even my own kids.

I agree, our lower order has improved a lot in regards to batting. It's always good to have a tail which can combined put together about 50-60 runs consistently, it improves your chances of making higher targets.

Yasir is a great spinner, he just needs to make sure that he is fit and confident.

A confident Yasir Shah can run through oppositions like a knife through butter. I back him to take a 5fer here and really get in the groove of test cricket again. We have a lot of home series coming up, and he should make sure that he is fit and in good form.

 

[Saj]

Why did he need Younis Khan to tell him to lose some weight, when as a professional sportsman he should know what his weight should be and what he should and should not be eating.

Was he not taking note of the advice of the PCB fitness trainers or dieticians (if we have them).

This sort of thing really lets our players down.

 

[Snowflake]

Common practice for all pakistani cricketers to thank the supporting staff for everything. At every single presentation ceremony, you would hear our guys say "the coaching staff supported me a lot. They did hard work with me blah blah..."

This is actually something that the players are instructed to say to make the management look good and for it to keep their jobs. Typically desi mentality.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Why did he need Younis Khan to tell him to lose some weight, when as a professional sportsman he should know what his weight should be and what he should and should not be eating.

Was he not taking note of the advice of the PCB fitness trainers or dieticians (if we have them).

This sort of thing really lets our players down.

By looking at him you wouldn't think he has lost anything at all as he still has that belly like he always did as Haris Sohail and to a little extent Azhar Ali.

 

[hitthestump]

Common practice for all pakistani cricketers to thank the supporting staff for everything. At every single presentation ceremony, you would hear our guys say "the coaching staff supported me a lot. They did hard work with me blah blah..."

This is actually something that the players are instructed to say to make the management look good and for it to keep their jobs. Typically desi mentality.

Indeed, but i noticed no mention of Misbah bhai in this passage which is interesting.

 

[Kaka4pope]

For a category A player to need a newer coach to inspire him to do so...mind boggling.

Have some of paks players been in a bubble because of being in the UAE for so long? Comes across complacent, and for the management prior.

Appreciate Pak salaries are not internationally competitive but still

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Why does a professional cricketer need to be told to get fit. The lack of professionalism is mind boggling

Strange indeed.

Could understand it if it was someone starting out in the game but Shah is 34. And he’s admitting to it as if it’s something to be proud about.

 

[volcyz]

Everyone wants to get onto Younis Khans good books

 

[Yk313]

I agree, our lower order has improved a lot in regards to batting. It's always good to have a tail which can combined put together about 50-60 runs consistently, it improves your chances of making higher targets.

Yasir is a great spinner, he just needs to make sure that he is fit and confident.

A confident Yasir Shah can run through oppositions like a knife through butter. I back him to take a 5fer here and really get in the groove of test cricket again. We have a lot of home series coming up, and he should make sure that he is fit and in good form.

Hope Yasir gets 5. Possibly one of the few things going right for PAK here and good for his own confidence too.

 

[moghul]

A 35 year old after playing professional cricket since 2000, suddenly came to know physical fitness was good for his game .

Or just a well needed praise from one Khan to another ?

 

[ManFan]

Yasir Shah really lets his supporters down.

Imagine this guy with the fitness of Jadeja.

 

[Shaddy86]

What he probably means is that Younis has a better routine for him to follow, better instructions/motivation which actually gets through to his head. I'm pretty sure other coaches have tried with him in the past and failed to motivate him. It's really difficult to motivate yourself to stay fit even if you really want to, sometimes you need that extra push and that's what Younis has given him. Nothing wrong with admitting it.

I have experienced this myself, although I'm not a professional but I'd love to have an athlete level fitness but it's very tough but there are people that are a lot more motivating and make me workout a lot harder than others.

 

[Junaids]

3 to 4 kg...haha. He is lying.

Another 15 kg and he should be considered for selection.

 

[Araash]

LOL only reason he's flapping his mouth (mindlessly) is because he's got a bit of performance to show now. You didn't hear a peep from him when was left to eat dust in the just concluded series in NZ.

 

[moghul]

LOL only reason he's flapping his mouth (mindlessly) is because he's got a bit of performance to show now. You didn't hear a peep from him when was left to eat dust in the just concluded series in NZ.

And, YK also had nothing to be proud of in NZL and with his tail ender scored some runs , YK asked him ( Shah ) to give some credit to him.

 

[Savak]

TBH more than the players, the team's fitness trainers and nutritionists should be on the dock for this, their jobs need to be threatened if the players do not turn up in shape every time onto the field and only by doing that will they repeatedly be on the players case to excercise, train daily and to eat right 24/7 otherwise there is no stress in the system.

That's how it works in the professional world, the senior manager/partner threatens a junior manager with dismissal if he doesn't supervise his junior employees and ensure they are doing their jobs properly, the junior manager in order to save his behind, gets on the case of the junior employee to make sure he is doing what is expected of him and if the junior employee doesn't deliver as expected then gets moved on.

Don't understand why don't we have a more ruthless system in place at the PCB

 

[Snowflake]

Indeed, but i noticed no mention of Misbah bhai in this passage which is interesting.

Idk, maybe Misbah isn't into this you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours business - possibly the only commendable thing about him.

I remember during Mickey's time, it was so ridiculous how every player would thank "ajju bhai" but would never mention Mickey or Flower at the post match ceremonies. And yk is the first person who would do anything to look good.

Anyway, desis are so insecure that they need these kind of tactics to stay relevant. Yasir has got physios around 24/7, no one could guide him to weight loss? Had to be yk after all this time

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Idk, maybe Misbah isn't into this you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours business - possibly the only commendable thing about him.

I remember during Mickey's time, it was so ridiculous how every player would thank "ajju bhai" but would never mention Mickey or Flower at the post match ceremonies. And yk is the first person who would do anything to look good.

Anyway, desis are so insecure that they need these kind of tactics to stay relevant. Yasir has got physios around 24/7, no one could guide him to weight loss? Had to be yk after all this time

No one thanked Mickey because he is a very poor coach.

 

[MenInG]

4th wicket this morning for Yasir

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[UzmanBeast]

He got a 4fer, but I think it will go well for him. Good to see him with some confidence back, looks more threatening now.

 

[Yk313]

Think he got more top order wickets in comparison to how Nauman fared. Still, they all count and PAK have been known to convolute simpler situations.

Hope his bowling becomes as potent as possible.

 

[Saj]

He badly needed those wickets in this match against South Africa.

He's a confidence bowler and looks much more threatening when he's on song.

Still not at his best though.

 

[pratiktc]

I would also be 'motivated' to lose weight if Younis twirled knife near me everyday at breakfast

 

[Boycottisno2]

That weight loss is not enough.... he needs to loose at least 10 to 15 kg minimum...... for him to continue being successful as a cricketer..... he is rather fat for his build

 

[JaDed]

Virat Kohli was grateful to Duncan for similar thing, people need to stop being so judgemental and just be happy for once.

https://zeenews.india.com/cricket/v...e-transformed-him-as-a-cricketer_1952469.html

“You need a set pattern of your training, the way you eat, how healthy and fit you need to be. Being fitter made me mentally stronger. It was like a direct connection,” Kohli recalled

 

[Bigboii]

^

"Kohli is the only cricketer ranked among top five batsmen in ICC rankings across formats"

Babar is doing the same but no one cares...

yeh bick gai hai Big 3...

 

[Bigboii]

^

"Kohli is the only cricketer ranked among top five batsmen in ICC rankings across formats"

Babar is doing the same but no one cares...

yeh bick gai hai Big 3...

or was doing it just a couple of months ago when Pak was playing tests back to back

 

[Saj]

The older you get, the harder it is to lose weight.

Yasir's age is shown as 34, but he's probably 37 or 38 I reckon.

I can't imagine that he will get much fitter in future.

 

[PakPremi]

Virat Kohli was grateful to Duncan for similar thing, people need to stop being so judgemental and just be happy for once.

https://zeenews.india.com/cricket/v...e-transformed-him-as-a-cricketer_1952469.html

“You need a set pattern of your training, the way you eat, how healthy and fit you need to be. Being fitter made me mentally stronger. It was like a direct connection,” Kohli recalled

Reading responses on this thread makes me laugh, it's funny how posters turn even positive actions as a negative. I remember some making up stuff about how Younis K took credit for Butler batting on an interview whereas it was Infact the complete opposite. Younis Khan refused to take credit for Butler performance when the presenter tried to give him credit. Younis said that I told Butler you already have won the match for England what more tips you need from me, but later he did have a chat with him.

 

[Yk313]

Reading responses on this thread makes me laugh, it's funny how posters turn even positive actions as a negative. I remember some making up stuff about how Younis K took credit for Butler batting on an interview whereas it was Infact the complete opposite. Younis Khan refused to take credit for Butler performance when the presenter tried to give him credit. Younis said that I told Butler you already have won the match for England what more tips you need from me, but later he did have a chat with him.

Same thing happened on a thread about Younus saying he expected to get called by the cricket committee in response to a journalist’s question.

Funny thing is, there are quite a few things where Younus can be found out/dirt to be had on him but people would rather shoot blindly.

 

[PakPremi]

I think the criticism should not be only on Yasir or Younis but all the Pakistani cricketers they always try to highlight their own achievements in presses and interviews rather than talk about team performances. Having said that I have not heard Younis ever big his cricket performance but he does bring up things like I play for team quote more than is necessary to highlight.

 

[wrongun]

Pakpassion... people criticise coaches for not improving their players (fair enough).

Pakpassion... player performs well & wants to thank the coach for helping him achieve= coach gets criticised again.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Yasir Shah's fitness is not up to the mark, and his diving while fielding wasn't good for him

 

[FearlessRoar]

He needs to work on his fitness again if he intends to make a comeback to the national side.

 

[mazkhan]

He needs to work on his fitness again if he intends to make a comeback to the national side.

He needs to retire he's well into his 40s

Career never kicked off could have become the best legspinner after Warne but didn't.

Got to 200 wickets pretty quick and then just went downhill

 

[Asad T]

Looks like Younis Khan needs to give Yasir another pep talk

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Looks like Younis Khan needs to give Yasir another pep talk

Pep talks are meaningless if the player doesn't take ownership himself. This thread is full of some deluded takes with one person even blaming coaches and fitness trainers. It's not like the fitness trainer can force a player to eat a certain way, or shove protein down his throat. Yasir Shah's international career is over so this is not really relevant to him, but it still applies to plenty of Pakistani players. Change of attitude comes from within, not by others forcing you.

And sorry but if you're a young player and have a garbage standard of fitness then it means you don't take this sport seriously enough and have no business playing international cricket. Stick to club cricket where you can play with others of your ilk.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Younis Khan, Misbah, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi were all supremely fit and still look more like active cricketers than many of our current lot, even though they are long retired.

They took this game seriously and still take their health seriously.

 

[Savak]

Pep talks are meaningless if the player doesn't take ownership himself. This thread is full of some deluded takes with one person even blaming coaches and fitness trainers. It's not like the fitness trainer can force a player to eat a certain way, or shove protein down his throat. Yasir Shah's international career is over so this is not really relevant to him, but it still applies to plenty of Pakistani players. Change of attitude comes from within, not by others forcing you.

And sorry but if you're a young player and have a garbage standard of fitness then it means you don't take this sport seriously enough and have no business playing international cricket. Stick to club cricket where you can play with others of your ilk.

The state of a players fitness testifies how much they really want to be successful. No one put a gun to Kohlis head to take his fitness, diet seriously from 2012 onwards.

 

[charlie007]

Looks like Younis Khan needs to give Yasir another pep talk

And some people ask why’s Dhoni playing professional cricket!!

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The state of a players fitness testifies how much they really want to be successful. No one put a gun to Kohlis head to take his fitness, diet seriously from 2012 onwards.

Exactly. And look at the state the team is in. Until you don't take ownership and don't make fitness your priority, rather than something less important than batting, bowling, fielding; nothing will change.

Our players fail to understand how interconnected fitness is to all disciplines of cricket. Either that or they just don't care enough. And honestly it doesn't make a difference if its the former or the latter. End result is the same.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Pep talks are meaningless if the player doesn't take ownership himself. This thread is full of some deluded takes with one person even blaming coaches and fitness trainers. It's not like the fitness trainer can force a player to eat a certain way, or shove protein down his throat. Yasir Shah's international career is over so this is not really relevant to him, but it still applies to plenty of Pakistani players. Change of attitude comes from within, not by others forcing you.

And sorry but if you're a young player and have a garbage standard of fitness then it means you don't take this sport seriously enough and have no business playing international cricket. Stick to club cricket where you can play with others of your ilk.

Well the mafia desperately wanted to ditch the fitness requirements for players cause they badly wanted Azam Khan in the team for some reason. And few others Sharjeel. It's simply a microcosm of Pakistani society. We are just so lazy and no one wants to take responsibility of themselves and always looking for someone to blame or lobbying to get an easy way in or out. It's not surprising that we are in this state right now. Talent can only take you so far. Without discipline and skills to polish it, you'd get found out soon.
I still think Yasir managed fairly well for his international career. The fitness of current players is appalling to say the least.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Well the mafia desperately wanted to ditch the fitness requirements for players cause they badly wanted Azam Khan in the team for some reason. And few others Sharjeel. It's simply a microcosm of Pakistani society. We are just so lazy and no one wants to take responsibility of themselves and always looking for someone to blame or lobbying to get an easy way in or out. It's not surprising that we are in this state right now. Talent can only take you so far. Without discipline and skills to polish it, you'd get found out soon.
I still think Yasir managed fairly well for his international career. The fitness of current players is appalling to say the least.

You can make an exception on fitness for a couple of players if their performance is on that level. Rohit Sharma is probably the best example of this case. Problem here is that players who are nobodies and have done nothing feel entitled to not focus on their fitness. And there is no one to keep them accountable. Even if you put someone in place, they get sacked within a couple months.

The fact that someone like Azam Khan managed to play international cricket for Pakistan says all that needs to be said about how seriously we take fitness.

 

[Savak]

Well the mafia desperately wanted to ditch the fitness requirements for players cause they badly wanted Azam Khan in the team for some reason. And few others Sharjeel. It's simply a microcosm of Pakistani society. We are just so lazy and no one wants to take responsibility of themselves and always looking for someone to blame or lobbying to get an easy way in or out. It's not surprising that we are in this state right now. Talent can only take you so far. Without discipline and skills to polish it, you'd get found out soon.
I still think Yasir managed fairly well for his international career. The fitness of current players is appalling to say the least.

Yasir was lucky he got to play the bulk of his cricket in the UAE, the moment he was forced to play back in Pakistan, his performances dipped big time to the point the selectors and team management moved on from him. His overseas record in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is terrible.

I rate Kaneria as the better spinner, if Kaneria got to play most of his career in the UAE, he would have had 350 plus test wickets.

 

[Snowflake]

I have zero respect for fat athletes.

They are a disgrace.

 

[volcyz]

Yasir was lucky he got to play the bulk of his cricket in the UAE, the moment he was forced to play back in Pakistan, his performances dipped big time to the point the selectors and team management moved on from him. His overseas record in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is terrible.

I rate Kaneria as the better spinner, if Kaneria got to play most of his career in the UAE, he would have had 350 plus test wickets.

If Kaneria had fielders that could catch, things would've been different.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Yasir was lucky he got to play the bulk of his cricket in the UAE, the moment he was forced to play back in Pakistan, his performances dipped big time to the point the selectors and team management moved on from him. His overseas record in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand is terrible.

I rate Kaneria as the better spinner, if Kaneria got to play most of his career in the UAE, he would have had 350 plus test wickets.

He did well in his last test series at home against SA. Was ordinary in the 3 tests vs SL and Ban. Not much of a sample size. Aging body also didn't favor him. He is a better spinner than Kaneria in Asia easily.