Guest Post by Syed Ahsan Ali
Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan premier batsman and
Abdur Razzaq, all-rounder with destructive hitting abilities, few months back look all set to be the regular features of Pakistan cricket for another three to four years, but change is the only thing constant in life.
T20 version of the game changed that certainty of few months back into the biggest dilemma for selectors regarding mid-August announcement of final squad for the inaugural
T20 World Cup in
South Africa. Arguments of poor fielding agility across the park, against these two cornerstones of Pakistan’s 50 over cricket, are put forward by several veteran cricketers and think tanks in Pakistan cricket board.
Another opinion that is becoming quite strong in opposition to this anticipated omissions of these explosive cricketers from the list of 15 that
Yousuf, and
Razzaq can add a lot to this rapid-paced cricket for Pakistan through plethora of experience and temperament at their disposal which they have shown over the span of years. Shortest version of the game definitely demands few sprints and dives to save some very precious runs, but making few quick runs with bellicosity under pressure-cooker situations can only be achieved when you have players of
Yousuf, and
Razzaq’s caliber who have years of daylights on their backs to bolster Pakistan to finishing line. Look at their careers can help in solving this riddle.
Abdur Razzaq
Experience of
231 matches.
4465 runs with the strike rate of
79.96 and an average of
29.96 with an added value of
103 sixes.
246 Wickets with an economy rate of
4.69.
Mohammad Yousuf
Experience of
242 matches.
8081 runs with the strike rate of
74.41 and an average of
41.02 (best average in current Pakistani set of available players even better than great
Inzamam-ul-Haq) with
12 hundreds and
54 fifties.
About the Author: Syed Ahsan Ali holds a masters degree in Economics and is a writer by profession. He occasionally writes for the daily News and the daily Dawn also
jeb saaaray out ho jaaingay toh Yousuf he bachaaegaa ! yeh bhi toh sochein zara ! :D
He is too good a batsman to be wasted in 20 over games lest he loses his straight-bat technique which is a must for a specialist batsman in tests and 50 over ODIs
*nods*- I second Owais on that. Players like yousuf,Inzy and Younus are not for T20 format. T20 format suits well for batsmen like Afridi, gilchrist,Hayden,Yovraj or Pullock.
p.s: Don’t think I am comparing Afridi with great batsmen like Gilchrist,Hayden or Pullock.
Yousuf and Razzaq are now fodder for ICL just as Inzamam was. ICL’s going to hollow out a number of teams if they succeed.
I think that Yousuf is too important a batsman to throw in the grind of 20/20. I won’t be surprised if a lot of senior players from other teams may also stay home.
20/20 is a perfect platform to give the new talent a chance to show their worth.
Ahsan.
I agree with you about Razzak but in case of Yousuf, I think he is an excess baggage for Twenty-20 games.
He is technically too correct to be successful in a 20 over game. What we need for a Twenty-20 are the likes of Afridi and brand-new youngsters who try to throw every ball they face out of the ground. Also twenty-20 form of game requires 10 all-rounders. Yousuf lacks in bowling and fielding.
He is too good a batsman to be wasted in 20 over games lest he loses his straight-bat technique which is a must for a specialist batsman in tests and 50 over ODIs