Younus Khan

Profile

Younus Khan made his debut for Pakistan in 2000, but it was not until five years later that his cricketing ability caught the world’s attention. As vice-captain, he scored three centuries in 2005, including a double against India. Khan dominates spin bowling, and his trademark flick on the leg side is just one of an array of delightful strokes that he has mastered.

A classy batsman, he is an excellent exponent of classic stroke-play. He is also a skilful fielder, often stationed in the slips, and he is known as one of the best Pakistani fielders in terms of running out opposing batsmen. However, despite his obvious talent, the problems that have dogged Pakistan cricket have also followed Khan, perhaps inevitably, as he is a high-profile member of the team. Prior to 2007 he led Pakistan occasionally, but turned down the full-time role after a catastrophic World Cup. Pakistan continued to under-perform and in 2009, Khan gave it another shot at captaincy. Although he led Pakistan to victory in the Twenty20 World Cup, the captaincy came at great personal cost to him, as the team was later accused of match-fixing after the poor semi-final performance at that year’s Champions Trophy; which ultimately led to his resignation.

Khan’s form deteriorated and after a horrendous tour of Australia in 2010, the Pakistan Cricket Board took the extraordinary step of banning Khan indefinitely for infighting. This was later overturned, but Khan was not recalled by the PCB; lingering antagonism between the two may have had a part to play, and it was not until October that he was selected against South Africa. After a prolonged absence from international cricket his performances were impressive, scoring two fifties in ODIs and a hundred in his comeback Test. As Pakistan faces struggles both on and off the pitch, a talented and experienced cricketer like him proves to be invaluable. However, the stress of cricket’s bureaucracy and the burden of expectation placed on the team by Pakistan cricket fans may again be too much. Nevertheless, Khan’s contribution towards his nation remains significant.

Fast Facts

• Younus Khan became the first Pakistani captain to have scored a triple century in Tests.
• He is fourth on the list of most number of centuries by a Pakistan player in Tests.
• Khan became Pakistan's first ever T20 World Cup winning captain.
• He reached the milestone of 4,000 Test runs in 87 innings, the second-fastest Pakistani to do so.
• Khan was ranked first in the ICC Test Batting Rankings in February 2009 with 880 points, the third-highest of any Pakistani in the Rankings’ history.
• His 313 against Sri Lanka was the third triple century by a Pakistani and the first triple century scored against Sri Lanka.

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Career

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