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Younis Khan vs Virender Sehwag - Who was the better Test batter?

Majestic

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Who is a better test batsmen?

Younis khan:

118 tests
10099 runs
Avg: 52
100s:34

Virender Sehwag:

104 tests
8586 runs
Avg: 49
100s:23
 
Viru, comfortably. Which is not to suggest Younis wasn't immense for Pakistan. But Viru's peer reputation speaks for itself, frankly.
 
Sehwag in Indian conditions, Younis everywhere else.
 
I'll go for Younis Khan. Sehwag's biggest strength was his ability to dominate attacks. But he was inconsistent. Younis Khan was more consistent and performed better in alien conditions.
 
Why is there a new comparison everyday? Sehwag was an opener. Younis khan wasnt. How can you compare the 2? Sehwag used to open for a team which had Sachin, Rahul, Laxman in the middle orders. Younis used to bat for a team which only depended upon Younis.

The whole gameplan would be different for the 2. I dont see a comparison here!
 
I will rate younis higher but anyone saying there is a big gap bw the two are just haters.
Younis can never do what sehwag did i. e dominating attacks and also having a str rate of 82 means he is a once in a generation player. His avg in sa and eng are bad but he has been prolific in aus.
 
I'd rather have Younis in my team than a walking wicket against bowling friendly conditions not to mention his recklessness
 
We had dravid for taking the shine off the new ball, sehwag was there to make quick runs and push the opponents on backfoot which itself is a big deal.
 
I can understand people preferring Younis. But saying Sehwag is a walking wicket on bowling friendly conditions as if Younis is good on it is laughworthy. Both were bad.
 
Younis. He can grind out and score runs in conditions where he is struggling.

Sehwag never really tried to change his game style and never grinded out in such conditions.

Younis is better in tests. All formats, its Sehwag.
 
Younis since he was more consistent and can play on any wicket.

I can understand having Sehwag since he could take away the game from the opposition if he stayed at the crease and can size down a deficit.

However Younis for me.
 
Lol, is this even a comparison...
Younis.
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Sehawag
Even in India Younis Khan was better than Sehwag
 
Younis was fantastic in Asia with Avg of 58 and SR 53, but unfortunately if you take sehwag in Asia then he will trump pretty much everyone else.

Sehwag spanked even gun bowlers in Asia and he could convert certain draw to win for his team. He was gun against spinners and pacers in Asia.

Sehwag in Asia averages 57 with SR of 85. Hard to take anyone else so it's not a fault of Younis to fall short here.

I will also take Sehwag in Aus and WI. YK was himself not great in many non-asian conditions, but he was better than Sehwag in many non-asian conditions. Sehwag was poor in many non-asian conditions and had no ability to hang in to help his team.


To sum it up, I will take Sehwag in Asia, WI and Aus. Everywhere else I will take YK.
 
Lol, is this even a comparison...
Younis.
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Sehawag
Even in India Younis Khan was better than Sehwag

Sehwag may be the best batsman in Asian conditions so not sure why it's not a comparison. If my team is playing in Asia, Sehwag will be probably the first name for me ahead of everyone else. I will take him over SRT as well.
 
Would take Sehwag over Younis with eyes closed and hands down

Cricket is a non-contact sport,but watching sehwag bat is as visceral an experience as watching Muhammad Ali dominate the ring in his prime

In pure cricketing terms,Sehwag's odd 50's can be more impactful than younis 100's

Sehwag is arguably one of the greatest match winner the game has ever seen
 
Different batsmen so not really an apt comparison. However, if I had to choose then I would choose Sehwag. He could destroy oppositions single handedly.
 
One thing is sure.Both will definitely make it to top 10 Asian test batsmen of all time.

Country-Wise:

India: SRT, Gavaskar, Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman, Kohli
Pak: Miandad, Younis, Inzy
SL: Sangakkara
 
Sehwag had ability to dominate even ATG bowlers, specially in Asian conditions.

155 against McGrath, Gillespie and Warne
319 againt Steyn, Ntini and Morkel
109 against Steyn and Morkel
165 agaisnt Steyn and Morkel
201* against Murali in Co in Galle
105 against Pollock and Co. in Bloemfontein

He really dominated those gun bowlers.


Just to put it in context,

Both have played around 30 tests against Steyn, Mcgrath, Warne, Pollock and Murali

Sehwag averages 55 with SR of 85

YK averages 43 with SR of 49
 
I may be a bit biased by seeing Sehwag score heavily against Steyn, Pollock, Morkel and Kallis, but as an opposition, I would be most scared of Sehwag out of all Asian batsmen if game is played in Asia. He used to go big even against ATG bowlers and score very quickly.
 
Sehwag comfortably.

There have been a lot of batsmen who can play like YK. But very few like Sehwag. How many players batted at an over SR 80 as an opener averaging around 50? It's unheard of.

The only other player who played similar to Sehwag is Warner, and even then Sehwag's better IMO.

Sehwag was a bigger matchwinner than YK, scored faster, Arguably a little better than YK against spin, never really saw a spinner ever trouble him.

Sehwag's blotch on his career is while not terrible, his record outside asia wasn't incredible. Though YK's wasn't either even if it's better. Not enough to rate YK over Sehwag though.

From the modern era, I feel only Graeme Smith challenges Sehwag to the title of best opener. He should go down as one of the best openers of all time along with Boycott, Gavaskar etc. YK on the other hand, you could probably name quite a few middle order batsmen better than him just in his own era let alone going back through time.
 
I will take Sehwag because he was better in Asian conditions and both were really not that great outside.
 
YK drew a test series in England. He was definitely a lot better than Sehwag outside Asia.

Yk was also leading run scorer for Pakistan in Australia tour in 2004-05.
 
YK drew a test series in England. He was definitely a lot better than Sehwag outside Asia.

Yk was also leading run scorer for Pakistan in Australia tour in 2004-05.

I'll agree with that.
 
For me I have to say Younis Khan. Mainly due to him having more consisentency than Sehwag. But Sehwag had the ability to destory any bowling opposition with his aggressive style.
 
Sehwag was always aggressive. While he was playing and in good nick, he was the most destructive opener of the game.

Sehwag dominated bowlers irrespective of their class. In shorter formats he changed the course of match within two or three overs. In more pure format, he always gifted more than a complete day for his team to do the needful.

Younis is technically a better batsman hence more consistent. But he lacked the aggression which was a hallmark of Sehwag. To sum up Younis was a classy batsman way less influential than Sehwag.
 
Who is a better test batsmen?

Younis khan:

118 tests
10099 runs
Avg: 52
100s:34

Virender Sehwag:

104 tests
8586 runs
Avg: 49
100s:23


Indeed, Virender Sehwag is a batsman who was special in the way he bats. But we are talking about Test Cricket which means to be able to bat in all conditions. And because of that reason I choose Younis Khan. A reliable batsman. Sehwag though is a special player, Especially when he makes the big score, like the one in Galle and in Pakistan (both double 100s).
 
I'll take YK. Outside of his comfort zone he was slightly str9nger and also had to carry a weaker batting line up.
 
Sehwag, pure match-winner.

He struggled against lateral movement but so did Younis. Averages alone do not tell a story - Younis has never been good enough to handle quality lateral movement. He has been a fisherman throughout his career, both on the cricket pitch and off the pitch.

He has been able to handle bounce at times, i.e. Old Trafford 2006, Oval 2016, Sydney 2017, but he has never produced anything substantial against quality swing and seam bowling. The innings in Auckland in 2001 is the closest that he has come to performing against lateral movement.
 
Virender shewag fantastic test cricketer...played many match winning knocks that too at higher strikerate...
 
YOUNIS KHAN & then some more!!!!! He would grind it out in tough conditions which is very rare in most batsmen these days.
 
Younis easily. He had a bigger impact on his team's wins and future players than Sehwag ever did. Part of there reason why Sehwag and co will never be considered the best in their class is because they were overshadowed by their own team man Sachin in all aspects.
 
I feel Younus was the more reliable player, but Sehwag was unique in his sheer destructive ability in tests to also score Daddy hundreds and put the opposition into the ground alone. You can replace Younus with another top class middle order batsman, can you replace Sehwag with a player of his quality of the same ilk as easily? I don't think so. I think Younus was better but Sehwag may be more valuable.
 
Younis easily. He had a bigger impact on his team's wins and future players than Sehwag ever did. Part of there reason why Sehwag and co will never be considered the best in their class is because they were overshadowed by their own team man Sachin in all aspects.

to be fair to Sehwag, if there was an XI for 2000s, Sehwag would have a genuine shout for the openers position competing with Hayden and Graeme Smith. In fact, Sehwag along with Smith, would be the openers for 2000s XI.

Younis Khan would not make to the decade XIs for 2000s, and might just get into the 2010s XI (3 of Sanga, Younis, Amla, Kohli, Root and ABD; Steve Smith is guaranteed for 2010s). By the end of the decade, Kohli is expected to take over, leaving the remaining 2 spots between the other 5. I suspect, by the end of 2010s the middle order for the decade would consist of Smith, Kohli, Root and ABD.

To be fair to Younis, his strongest period was between 2005-2017, whereas Sehwag's strongest was between 2002 - 2010. So if we look at Younis's strongest period, 2005 - 2017, Younis is still not guaranteed a place in that X1. For the Middle Order, Amla, Kallis and Sanga are certainties.The remaining 1 spot is competed between Younis, Kallis, Steve Smith, Chanders and Clarke.

So Swhwag might have been overshadowed as a batsman by Sachin, but he was still one of the best at his craft, opening. Younis, despite being the best in his team, was not necessarily the best in the world.

As an overall batsman, I still think Younis was ahead by just a minute margin. And saying that Sehwag vs Younis is no comparison is also incorrect.

Because Sehwag is an opener, he should not be judged with a middle order batsman.
 
Sehwag, pure match-winner.

He struggled against lateral movement but so did Younis. Averages alone do not tell a story - Younis has never been good enough to handle quality lateral movement. He has been a fisherman throughout his career, both on the cricket pitch and off the pitch.

He has been able to handle bounce at times, i.e. Old Trafford 2006, Oval 2016, Sydney 2017, but he has never produced anything substantial against quality swing and seam bowling. The innings in Auckland in 2001 is the closest that he has come to performing against lateral movement.

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to be fair to Sehwag, if there was an XI for 2000s, Sehwag would have a genuine shout for the openers position competing with Hayden and Graeme Smith. In fact, Sehwag along with Smith, would be the openers for 2000s XI.

Younis Khan would not make to the decade XIs for 2000s, and might just get into the 2010s XI (3 of Sanga, Younis, Amla, Kohli, Root and ABD; Steve Smith is guaranteed for 2010s). By the end of the decade, Kohli is expected to take over, leaving the remaining 2 spots between the other 5. I suspect, by the end of 2010s the middle order for the decade would consist of Smith, Kohli, Root and ABD.

To be fair to Younis, his strongest period was between 2005-2017, whereas Sehwag's strongest was between 2002 - 2010. So if we look at Younis's strongest period, 2005 - 2017, Younis is still not guaranteed a place in that X1. For the Middle Order, Amla, Kallis and Sanga are certainties.The remaining 1 spot is competed between Younis, Kallis, Steve Smith, Chanders and Clarke.

So Swhwag might have been overshadowed as a batsman by Sachin, but he was still one of the best at his craft, opening. Younis, despite being the best in his team, was not necessarily the best in the world.

As an overall batsman, I still think Younis was ahead by just a minute margin. And saying that Sehwag vs Younis is no comparison is also incorrect.

Because Sehwag is an opener, he should not be judged with a middle order batsman.

The would-he-make-a World's XI for an arbitrarily bracketed 19XX-XX seems a very strange criterion to me.

The question was who was the better batsman.

Sure, there were been better middle order bats around than Younis Khan, but he could still be worse than these batsmen, and better than Sehwag.

Anyone ever heard of set theory?

Surely its a fair point to note that one was an opener and another a middle order bat. Apples and oranges.

But that just tells us that if we were to select the best possible opener of the two, we would pick Sehwag, the best possible middle order bat, Younis.

The point about facing quality lateral movement may be worth raising, but it is also surely overdrawn, and particularly by Mamoon, who's been wrong so often about YK's abilities that it hardly bears repeating.

Is this the only qualification worth mentioning? Who of the two were better players of spin? Who had a better 4th innings average? Who could be counted on to score in the most varied conditions?

For his SR, Sehwag was a rather more odd beast than YK, but not necessarily a better Test batsman for that.
 
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The would-he-make-a World's XI for an arbitrarily bracketed 19XX-XX seems a very strange criterion to me.

The question was who was the better batsman.

Sure, there were been better middle order bats around than Younis Khan, but he could still be worse than these batsmen, and better than Sehwag.

Anyone ever heard of set theory?

Surely its a fair point to note that one was an opener and another a middle order bat. Apples and oranges.

But that just tells us that if we were to select the best possible opener of the two, we would pick Sehwag, the best possible middle order bat, Younis.

The point about facing quality lateral movement may be worth raising, but it is also surely overdrawn, and particularly by Mamoon, who's been wrong so often about YK's abilities that it hardly bears repeating.

Is this the only qualification worth mentioning? Who of the two were better players of spin? Who had a better 4th innings average? Who could be counted on to score in the most varied conditions?

For his SR, Sehwag was a rather more odd beast than YK, but not necessarily a better Test batsman for that.

The most of what you said definitely makes a lot of sense except the bolded part. Sehwag was a magnificent player of spin and was throughout his career a spinner's nightmare. Not saying he was miles better than Younis against spin though. Sehwag's strength was his utter dominating game over spinner rather than grinding them for runs. That of course is due to the way he played his game. Younis too was a fantastic player of spin.
 
One is a an ultra attaching opener other plays the anchors role in the middle order. How is this even a comparison. Their nationality is probably the only thing that lead to this thread otherwise we never see Chris Gayle vs Rahul Dravid threads.
 
Sehwag, pure match-winner.

He struggled against lateral movement but so did Younis. Averages alone do not tell a story - Younis has never been good enough to handle quality lateral movement. He has been a fisherman throughout his career, both on the cricket pitch and off the pitch.

He has been able to handle bounce at times, i.e. Old Trafford 2006, Oval 2016, Sydney 2017, but he has never produced anything substantial against quality swing and seam bowling. The innings in Auckland in 2001 is the closest that he has come to performing against lateral movement.

Younis's weakness was not Sehwag's strength either. Can you recall any of Sehwag's inning against high quality swing and seam bowling?
 
You can bat like Younis, Dravid even Sachin. Not like Sehwag. Pulverizing attack and wiping off first innings deficit effortlessly, Sehwga is once in a generation batsman. Strike rate of 80 as an opener at an average of 50.. give him any day.

Virender Sehwag 76 ICC World XI vs Australia Super Test 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAgxDDUFoyc
 
Sehwag is an ATG opener. What a ridiculous comparison. Try Ganguly vs Younus khan.
 
Sehwag was an ATG opener who would be named in top ATG teams and among players in history (like in Gower's list), whereas Younis Khan was a legendary middle order batsman. So Sehwag wins this one. His record against the ATG Australia attack away from home is just immense as well!
 
Also Sehwag you could argue was the best player (or had the greatest impact/biggest match winner) in Asian conditions in tests because he could score big, destroy spin (and pace) at a blistering strike rate.
 
From Ponting to Pietersen, many of Sehwag's peers have included him in their first choice ATG XI. Does Younis Khan feature in even one?
 
Both are different kind of players. One played in the middle order and the other opened. One was a grafter and the other was an aggressive opener. I don't think this comparison is valid to be frank.
 
Both are different kind of players. One played in the middle order and the other opened. One was a grafter and the other was an aggressive opener. I don't think this comparison is valid to be frank.

Sorry, that does not wash. They might be batsmen of contrasting styles but that by itself doesn't rule out comparison between them. Otherwise how would one go about singling out ATG players where players of different styles are compared?
 
Sorry, that does not wash. They might be batsmen of contrasting styles but that by itself doesn't rule out comparison between them. Otherwise how would one go about singling out ATG players where players of different styles are compared?

They are not only different styles, their role in the team is different as well. Sehwag opened the batting which consisted of one of the strongest middle orders in recent times, Younis was a crucial member of the middle order of Pakistan. Chalk and cheese. How can you begin to compare and differentiate the impact the players had on their respective teams? Yeah you can compare their stats and say one is better than the other, that is just the numbers game and people are within their rights to do so.
 
They are not only different styles, their role in the team is different as well. Sehwag opened the batting which consisted of one of the strongest middle orders in recent times, Younis was a crucial member of the middle order of Pakistan. Chalk and cheese. How can you begin to compare and differentiate the impact the players had on their respective teams? Yeah you can compare their stats and say one is better than the other, that is just the numbers game and people are within their rights to do so.

You are struggling with comprehension here. When someone says Bradman is the greatest ever, it is implied that he is better than all other batsmen with vastly different roles, styles, whatever you have. According to your logic, Bradman should not be compared to such batsmen and ergo should not be called the greatest ever. But Bradman is in fact often called the greatest ever. Same for Sachin. So what's so unique about Sehwag and Younis? Sure their roles were different but they are still batsmen who tested their skills against bowlers with different degrees of success. Sounds like a fit case for comparison.
 
These two innings came on drop in pitches where batting was not all that easy for anyone. Bond, Tuffey, Mills were a handful on these surfaces. Look at the 2nd best scores in these matches. Sehwag sure had no concept of leaving too many balls. You could put that down to temperament and nature. Definitely not due to lack of technique. After some time they found out oneday field is the best field for Sehwag in Tests. THey sarted having deep thirdman from the first over.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...ia-2nd-odi-india-tour-of-new-zealand-2002-03/

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...ia-6th-odi-india-tour-of-new-zealand-2002-03/
 
You are struggling with comprehension here. When someone says Bradman is the greatest ever, it is implied that he is better than all other batsmen with vastly different roles, styles, whatever you have. According to your logic, Bradman should not be compared to such batsmen and ergo should not be called the greatest ever. But Bradman is in fact often called the greatest ever. Same for Sachin. So what's so unique about Sehwag and Younis? Sure their roles were different but they are still batsmen who tested their skills against bowlers with different degrees of success. Sounds like a fit case for comparison.

That's the reason I said, it is just me. If someone has an average more than 35 points than his nearest rival like Brardman, then he can be called the best ever. Unfortunately in modern era no one is so comprehensively ahead of their competition. When you have 2-3 points separating two players, it is hard to say someone is better than the other based on numbers alone. That's my point. People calling the other as better is matter of perspective which is fine by the way as I said, people can compare whomever they want. It is like comparing Rahul Dravid to Adam Gilchrist and saying Gilly is better because he struck at 80+ while averaging just 3-4 points below Dravid and both were middle order players. But again, how do you reach that conclusion by just numbers and style of play? Gilly did what he did best and for an all conquering Australian side, that worked and Dravid did what he does best and for an Indian side it worked. Now how would you say which one was better objectively? Not a valid comparison. If Younis was averaging 10-15 points above Sehwag, you could say he was better than not only Sehwag but host of other good batters as the average difference is very high.
 
No doubt Sehwag was more destructive but Younis better under pressure. Seeing our openers have historically been poor I would take Sehwag in my team.
 
Gilchrist vs Dravid:
Gilly 48 at 82 sr
Dravid 52 at 42 sr

Gilchrist > Dravid as per this thread
:)))
 
The only thing Sehwag has on YK is the ability to hit. Hit big and hard. That's produced gun knocks against ATG attacks and 2 300's but also a career unfulfilled in Tests and ODI's. YK on the other hand overachieved through sheer hard work and a chip on his shoulder that still hasn't dropped to this day.
 
Gilchrist vs Dravid:
Gilly 48 at 82 sr
Dravid 52 at 42 sr

Gilchrist > Dravid as per this thread
:)))

Gilchrist was the best wicket keeper batsman in the world batting at number 7, so funnily enough you will see Gilly in virtually every ATG XI list you'll find and that's fact! - as for Dravid he was certainly a top tier ATG but would I pick him over Tendulkar, Viv Richards, Lara and etc - ofc not!

So try to understand the context here. Sehwag as an opener >>> YK as a middle order batsman.

Going by peer assessment and pundit views YK isn't recognised by many as an ATG whereas Sehwag is.
 
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to be fair to Sehwag, if there was an XI for 2000s, Sehwag would have a genuine shout for the openers position competing with Hayden and Graeme Smith. In fact, Sehwag along with Smith, would be the openers for 2000s XI.

Younis Khan would not make to the decade XIs for 2000s, and might just get into the 2010s XI (3 of Sanga, Younis, Amla, Kohli, Root and ABD; Steve Smith is guaranteed for 2010s). By the end of the decade, Kohli is expected to take over, leaving the remaining 2 spots between the other 5. I suspect, by the end of 2010s the middle order for the decade would consist of Smith, Kohli, Root and ABD.

To be fair to Younis, his strongest period was between 2005-2017, whereas Sehwag's strongest was between 2002 - 2010. So if we look at Younis's strongest period, 2005 - 2017, Younis is still not guaranteed a place in that X1. For the Middle Order, Amla, Kallis and Sanga are certainties.The remaining 1 spot is competed between Younis, Kallis, Steve Smith, Chanders and Clarke.

So Swhwag might have been overshadowed as a batsman by Sachin, but he was still one of the best at his craft, opening. Younis, despite being the best in his team, was not necessarily the best in the world.

As an overall batsman, I still think Younis was ahead by just a minute margin. And saying that Sehwag vs Younis is no comparison is also incorrect.

Because Sehwag is an opener, he should not be judged with a middle order batsman.

I agree with the gist of your post but few things:

Sehwag would not be a pick in 2000s XI going up against Hayden and Smith. Sehwag was more entertaining to watch than both but is behind on achievements during that era. That's my personal opinion and we can agree to disagree on this. Hayden was part of more victories and had a big impact in making the Australian team unbeatable during that time.

It's tough to judge openers to middle order batsmen...and I agree it's not a good comparison. But overall, Younis in my opinion left a bigger mark on cricket as a whole and in particular on Pakistan cricket.

They were both opposite in the sense that Sehwag had greater natural ability and Younis had more grit. I'd prefer to watch Sehwag 10 out 10 times over Younis...but I'd pick Younis 10 out of 10 times to go and bat for me.

I also think Sehwag was free to play as he wished because he had Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, and Laxman, to fall back on....Younis on the other hand was alone with a Misbah in the end days to fall back on. Let's not forget Misbah failed many times and wasn't as reliable.

I think Younis overall has left a bigger legacy than Sehwag....even though he wasn't as gifted.
 
What were there averages in the 4th innings? That surely will make it interesting
 
Sehwag & Younis Khan are good for comparison as YK mostly found himself coming on to the pitch in the first few overs of the innings. They are completely different players and are pure impact in their own regard. Sehwag for his hitting prowess and YK for his 2nd innings brilliance!

If you look at the players in a vaccum, surely Sehwag is better for his destructiveness, but that really wouldn't do justice to the player YK was. Cricket is a team game and while Sehwag had the freedom to play his game with arguably stalwarts waiting behind him (Dravid, then Sachin, then Ganguly, and even Laxman), YK often had just one or two whom he had to bat with. YK has come big huge for Pakistan in rearguard efforts, come-from-behind series winning/leveling performances and was at least half the reason for stability in an otherwise subpar batting line-up. What stands out to me for YK is that he rarely failed across an entire series.

Overall Sehwag is a very close second for me, and I can see myself going either way depending mainly on the composition of the rest of the team. If my team is packed with superstars, I'd rather have Sehwag opening for me. If my team otherwise is not a star-studded lineup, surely I will go with YK!
 
It's easy

Younis Khan

Younis Khan had a weakness but for Sehwag that particular weakness was tailender level

It's not a comparison

If going got tough Sehwag would never put in a fight

If I have a very strong batting lineup then Sehwag because of his uniqueness but that's it
 
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