Younis Khan - The unorthodox backbone of Pakistan batting

What compels me to write this article is the almost hideous display of defensive Test batting I’ve seen in a long time and yet, one which undoubtedly has to be lauded for the perseverance, though ugly to witness, displayed by the subject in focus here, the Pakistani veteran, Younis Khan.

The innings being talked about is the 25 scored by Younis in the second innings of the first Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s. The perhaps diminutive score of 25 consumed 95 balls of the match speaks enough of the nature of the struggle undergone by the batsmen, the bowlers as well as the viewer. For the seasoned cricket fan, the perhaps orthodox nature of Younis Khan’s batting is known to all and yet what we witnessed in the first Test match was a different gameplay of sorts.

On the other end were young players like Asad Shafiq who played in a fluid manner and here was Younis, whose lack of experience on wickets outside Asia in the past 5 years or so was perhaps compounded by his ageing eyes and an unusually nervous footwork which seemed unable to come to grips with what the wicket had to offer.

Unlike his mobile compatriot and fellow teammate Sarfraz Ahmed who was maneuvering his movement in the crease thus manipulating the bowlers’ length, Younis Khan who characteristically crouches in his batting stance and watches the ball rather keenly seemed to be unable to track and get used to the swinging ball. His crouched stance though suitable for the subcontinent wickets where the ball stays low seemed to have made it difficult for him to get accustomed to the added bounce generated by Broad and Woakes due to which he played a lot of balls with both the feet in the air.

Also read – I stayed away from my family for 8 years to be close to cricket: Yasir Shah

Even so, there was something admirable with the way Younis with his hawk-like maneuver lasted for those painful 135 minutes on the crease. The importance of that inning by Younis cannot be understated for Pakistan could have squandered their well-earned first innings lead but Younis along with Asad Shafiq stitched a 69-run stand which gave Pakistan a slight edge over their English counterparts.

On the personal front, the ongoing Test series against England could well augur redemption for Younis Khan who was once banned for life by the PCB for causing in-fighting within the team. Courtesy to the ban, Younis missed the last tour to England in 2010, one which was marred by controversy and thankfully, the ban was soon lifted and yet, a bigger chance at proving and perhaps de-mystifying his adherence to the team and his nation couldn’t have presented itself in a bigger way.

A series win here would undoubtedly be the best send-off that the Pakistan team could give to its old war-horses, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan; instrumental in piecing together, what looked like the ruins of a glorious past for Pakistan cricket and enriching the hope that the best is yet to come.

We all saw the amazing press-up celebration of the Pakistan team after their win at Lord’s, something to display their newly forged unity and what was more inspiring was to see Younis Khan being the instructor there which is the root cause of our firm belief that this newly forged and inspiring unity in the Pakistan team is courtesy the veterans, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq.

Also read – Open letter to the Pakistan team after their win in the Lord’s Test

While Younis finds it insulting to be compared with Misbah as he believes and rightly so that he’s been around for a long time and has greater performances to his credit, even so under Misbah’s captaincy, Younis has achieved remarkable levels of consistency averaging 60.25. Misbah too considers Younis as the benchmark for the rest of the team, the glue that binds the team together, in Misbah’s words, “the crucial factor” as his performances and the decorum he maintains encourages the other team-mates to follow suit! Undoubtedly their symbiotic relationship augurs good fortune for the Pakistan cricket team.