End of an era for Mohammad Yousuf?
LAST week’s abrupt resignation of Pakistan skipper Mohammad Yousuf from the international scene was like an insidious blast that ricocheted from the slums of Lahore to the hallowed shrine of Lord’s cricket ground.
Christened Yusuf Youhana until his conversion to the Muslim faith a few years ago, the casually elegant Yousuf who boasts an outstanding career average of over 53 in Tests and 42.79 in ODIs, has been one of Pakistan’s most prolific batsmen over the years.
Second in ODI career average only to Zaheeer Abbas, but by far his country’s most productive player in this version of the game with over 9,000 runs, the 35-year-old led the team on its ill-fated tour of Australia a few months ago.
No doubt peeved by the manner of the team’s defeats in all forms of the game Down Under, and exacerbated by the captain’s role in alleged infighting among team members, the no-nonsense but reckless PCB slapped Yousuf with an indefinite ban that triggered a knee-jerk reaction from one of the most talented batsmen of the modern era.
As one laments yet another infamous cricketing occurrence involving a nation that gave birth to legends like Abbas, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq, the presumption that Pakistan’s penchant for self-destruction lies in its volatile and overzealous politics at all levels, whose ripple effect has finally caught up with the game of cricket, would not be a farfetched idea.
One recalls that less than two years ago, there was a bomb attack on the Sri Lankan team bus during its tour of that country — a close shave which led to the serious injuring of at least one member of the touring team, and the hospitalisation of others.
That incident not only sparked widespread panic around the globe and targeted Pakistan as an unsafe destination for sporting teams, but likewise, actualised what hitherto seemed a physical impossibility within the realm of cricket, which is second only to religious fervour with its passionate fan base on the sub-continent.
As expected, the international community disqualified and isolated Pakistan as hosts of sporting events of any magnitude. It is also noteworthy that subsequent to the aforementioned episode, the country lost its right to co-host the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Further, most of its players were omitted by default from last year’s lucrative IPL Twenty/20 tournament staged for the first time in South Africa.
However, if this is the end of an era for a great batsman named Mohammad Yousuf, the verdict that would reverberate throughout the cricketing world is that an auspicious career has been cut short. That cricket has benefited from the presence of Yousuf — who accumulated over 7,400 runs from only 88 Tests and is statistically ahead of even the great Javed Miandad — is beyond doubt.
But likewise, considering his miraculous rise from the ash of poverty in the slums of the Pakistani capital, the composed batsman who has had a fairytale run has much to be thankful for.
Closer home, judicious West Indies fans need little prompting about Yousuf’s recent achievements against their long-stuttering team. One respectfully recalls the right-hander’s string of centuries against Brian Lara’s side in the 2006 series in Sharjah, including tons in each innings of a Test match which propelled him to the status of ‘immortal’.
All this came after distinguishing himself with two centuries against the West Indies in the Caribbean six years earlier, after only two years on the international stage.
In fact, 2006 was a golden period for the hard-hitting WG Grace look-alike, who gathered an incredible 1,788 runs in a single calendar year to smash Sir Vivian Richards’ 30-year-old mark. He accounted for yet another enviable record — the longest succession of Test centuries (six) that he currently shares with the legendary Sir Don Bradman.
As we await further development on this interesting issue, we note that current skipper Shahid Afridi is beseeching Yousuf to reconsider his hasty decision. For, it would be a great pity if a player of this quality prematurely rides off into the sunset, like Brian Lara did back in 2007.