- Mohammad Yousuf (cricketer)
-
Mohammad Yousuf
محمد یوسف
Personal information Full name Mohammad Yousuf Born 27 August 1974
Lahore, Punjab, PakistanNickname Moe[1] Batting style Right handed batsman Bowling style Right-arm off break Role Batsman International information National side Pakistan Test debut (cap 122) 26 February 1998 v South Africa Last Test 29 August 2010 v England ODI debut (cap 152) 28 March 1998 v Zimbabwe Last ODI 22 September 2010 v England ODI shirt no. 13 Domestic team information Years Team 2011 Warwickshire 2010 Lahore Lions 2010 Islamabad Leopards 2008 Lancashire 2004–2008 Lahore Lions 2003–2004 Lahore 2002–2003 ZTBL 2000–2001 Lahore Blues 1999–2002 PIA 1997–1998 Lahore City 1997–2008 WAPDA 1996–1997 Bahawalpur Career statistics Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 90 287 134 325 Runs scored 7,530 9,717 10,152 10,510 Batting average 52.29 41.88 49.28 39.81 100s/50s 24/33 15/64 29/49 15/68 Top score 223 141* 223 141* Balls bowled 6 2 18 8 Wickets 0 1 0 1 Bowling average – 1.00 – 13.00 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a Best bowling 0/3 1/0 0/3 1/0 Catches/stumpings 65/– 58/– 84/– 69/– Source: Cricinfo, 10 October 2010 Mohammad "Moe" Yousuf (Punjabi, Urdu: محمد یوسف ; formerly Yousuf Youhana, یوسف یوحنا; born 27 August 1974, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) is a Pakistani right-handed batsman. He is best known in cricket for his achievement in 2006 when he broke the world record for most Test runs in a single calendar year.[2] Prior to his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was one of only a few Christians to play for the Pakistan cricket team.
Yousuf was effectively banned from playing international cricket for Pakistan, for an indefinite period by the Pakistan Cricket Board on 10 March 2010, following an inquiry into the team's defeat during the tour of Australia.[3] An official statement was released by the Pakistan Cricket Board, saying that he would not be selected again on the grounds of inciting infighting within the team.[3]
On 29 March 2010, Yousuf announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket,[4] a direct reaction of the indefinite ban handed out to him by PCB. However following Pakistan's disastrous first Test against England in July/August 2010, PCB decided to ask Yousuf to come out of retirement.[5]
Contents
Early life
Yousuf was born to a Balmiki family who later converted to Christianity.[6]
Career
He made his Test debut against South Africa at Durban and One Day International debut against Zimbabwe at Harare. He has scored over 9,000 One Day International runs at an average above 40 (2nd highest batting average among Pakistani batsmen after Zaheer Abbas) and over 7,000 Test runs at an average above 50 (highest batting average amongst all Pakistani batsmen) with 24 Test centuries. He has the record of scoring the most runs without being dismissed in the One Day International match, with a total of 405 runs against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2002–2003. He has also scored a 23-ball fifty and a 68-ball hundred in One Day International. In Test match, he has scored a 27-ball fifty, which is 3rd fastest by any player. He was the top scorer during the successive years of 2002 and 2003 in the world in One Day International match. In 2004, he scored 111 runs against the Australians in the Boxing Day Test. In December 2005, he scored 223 runs against England at Lahore, also earning him the man of the match award. Seven months later in July 2006, when Pakistan toured England, he scored 202 runs and 48 in the first Test, again earning himself the man of the match award. He followed up with 192 in the third Test at Headingley and 128 in the final Test at The Oval.
Yousuf was named CNN-IBN’s Cricketer of the Year for 2006, ahead of the likes of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies Brian Lara, Australian spinner Shane Warne, South Africa’s bowling spearhead Makhaya Ntini and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan. He was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 2007 edition.[7] Yousuf became the fourth recipient of the ICC 'Test Cricketer of the Year' award for 2007, he scored 944 runs at an average of 94.40 including seven centuries and two fifties in just 10 innings and that was enough to be awarded the honour ahead of English batsman Kevin Pietersen and Australian batsman Ricky Ponting.[8]
A year that started on a promising note, Yousuf carried it forward to break two world records both held earlier by former West Indian batsman Viv Richards. The 32-year-old, Pakistani batsman achieved an unparalleled 1788 runs in just 10 Test matches with the help of twelve centuries which became his second world record. Yousuf is known for his ability to score runs at exceptional rate through his great technique and composed strokeplay. Although capable of hitting the ball hard, Yousuf is quick between the wickets, although he is prone to being run out.[2]
Yousuf is a skilful infielder, with a report prepared by Cricinfo in late 2005 showing that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the ninth highest number of run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman.[9] He is also distinguished by his characteristic celebration after hitting one hundred runs for his country, where he prostrates in thankfulness to Allah in the direction of Mecca. He has observed this act (known as the Sajdah) since his conversion to Islam.[10][11] In 2007, after initially signing a contract to join the Indian Cricket League, Yousuf later refused due to pressure from the Pakistan Cricket Board as he would later face a ban by the board. In return the PCB promised to get him into the Indian premier league, however, no team bid for him as he faced litigation from the ICL.[12]
In 2008, he once again threatened to join the ICL after the PCB dropped him from their squad. A PCB official was quoted as saying, "We have banned all our cricketers who joined the ICL and if Yousuf also plays for the unauthorised league then he will have to face the same punishment. Yousuf is still our best Test batsman and has a future with the Pakistan team, but not if he joins the ICL."[13] Yousuf decided to join the ICL again to play mid-way though the second season.[14] The Pakistan Cricket Board reacted to the news by banning him from the national team.[15] Yousaf's chances to return to Pakistani cricket improved on 2 February 2009 when a Pakistani court suspended the ban on ICL players.[16]
Pakistan Cricket Board recalled batsman Mohammad Yousuf to the squad for their July 2009 Test series in Sri Lanka. Yousuf ended his association with the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL) in early May, in the hope of earning a recall for his country. His decision to join the ICL was made because of differences with former captain Shoaib Malik, who has since been replaced by Younus Khan.[17] In July 2009, on his first match after returning to Test Cricket since 2007, Yousuf scored a century to announce his return to cricket.
Yousuf informed the Pakistan Cricket Board that he would not be taking part in the Champions Trophy 2008 because it would coincide with the holy month of Ramadan.[18]
He along with another former Indian Cricket League player Abdul Razzaq were awarded ‘A’ category mid-term central contracts by Pakistan Cricket Board after they left Indian Cricket League.[19] A little over one year after being welcomed back by the PCB, Yousuf was made captain of the Test team for the tour of New Zealand after Younus Khan was allowed to take a break.[20]
The Pakistan Cricket Board, on 10 March 2010, banned Yousuf and former captain, Younis Khan from playing for the national team indefinitely and imposed one-year bans on Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.[3] Despite receiving the ban Yousuf said that the series against South Africa in late 2010 could be a possibility.[21] Pakistan then toured England in July 2010 and after losing the first test by 354 runs due to a weak batting line-up, the second innings total of 80 being the lowest total by Pakistan against England. Yousuf announced his return to International Cricket and was placed on the squad.[22] He then required a visa which was granted but there was a concern that Yousuf could not come to England in time for that tour.[23]
Retirement and subsequent return (2010)
On 29 March 2010, Yousuf announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket,[4] just days after the Pakistan Cricket Board imposed an indefinite ban on him. "I received a letter from the PCB that my staying in the team is harmful for the team, so I announce my retirement from international cricket," he said at a press conference in Karachi.[4] On 27 March, Yousuf said that he had decided to retire from international cricket.[24] "Yes, I have decided to retire as Pakistan player and my decision is not an emotional one", Yousuf told press agency AFP, "It's of no use playing if my playing is harmful to the team".[24] He was handed over an indefinite ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board for his disciplinary problems on Pakistan's tour of Australia 2009–2010.
On 1 August 2010, after Pakistan lost the first Test match against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Yousuf was called back in the squad for the rest of the series.[5] He decided not to play the second test because of tiredness.[25] Shortly after the completion of the second test, Pakistani captain, Salman Butt announced that he expected Yousuf to return for the third test.[26] The selectors decided to play Yousuf in a Tour match against Worcestershire just before the third test so that his form and fitness could be checked[27] Yousuf's form check was positive because on a day inflicted by rain he managed to score 40*[28] Yousuf then scored 56 against England in the 3rd Test before being caught and bowled by Graeme Swann in the process Yousuf became Swann's 100 casualty in Test cricket the day saw a much improved performance by Pakistan as they were eventually bowled out for 308[29]
In the same tour of England that summer he participated in the Twenty20 series as well. Despite being considered an "old boys cricketer" and having participated in only a sole T20I in 2006 and considered one who does not slog as often (notable by the low amount of sixes he has scored) Yousuf participated and score 26 of 21 deliveries.
His return continued well when he scored 46 in the second ODI against England. He consistently scored during the five-match England series as Pakistan lost 3–2. Yousuf was subsequently selected to play for Pakistan in all three-formats against South Africa in October 2010[30] he was considered as an option for becoming captain but the captaincy was given Misbah-ul-Haq Yousuf's batting partner Younis Khan however still was not selected.[31]
Mohammad Yousuf captained his domestic team the Lahore Lions to victory in the 2010-11 Faysal Bank Twenty-20 Cup the team defeated the Karachi Dolphins comfortably in the final. This was also the first time in five-years that the trophy had gone to someone besides the Sialkot Stallions.[32] Despite his poor fielding skills Yousuf was given the award of fielder of the series. He did however injure is hamstring in training for the series against South Africa in October 2010. Chief Selector Mohsin Khan elected to withdraw Yousuf from the ODI and Twenty-20 squads but said that he should be ready to lay in the Test match series.[33] Yousuf's replacement in the limited-overs squad was Younus Khan who had successfully reconciled with the Pakistan Cricket Board. He managed to regain his fitness and participated in the two-match test series against South Africa[34] Also he managed to regain his fitness quick enough to participate in the final ODI of the five-match series. Yousuf wore a shirt which had his name written on in ink which was against regulations. The match-referee called him and Yousuf stated that because he came for the test series he did not bring coloured clothing because he did not think that he would play. Subsequently the ICC cleared him of any wrongdoing[35] Minutes before the toss in the first Test match Yousuf picked up a groin injury. The injury took two weeks to heal and subsequently Yousuf missed the two-match test series[36] Amid his recent spat of injuries former Pakistan captain Moin Khan suggested that Yousuf should retire from ODI's and T20's and focus on Tests only due to age and consistent injuries[37]
Statistics
Career highlights
- In November 2006, Muhammad yousuf is a world no. 1 player for all times.Yousuf achieved the 10th highest ever figure in ICC's test batting rating. His rating of 933 gave him a personal best of 2nd place in the rankings behind Ricky Ponting and was the 3rd highest ranking of any current player as well as the highest for any batsmen from Asia.[38][39][40]
- Yousuf is the third Pakistani batsmen to surpass 6000 runs in Test cricket, the others being Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq.[41]
- He has the second highest Test Match centuries amongst Pakistani batsmen, currently on 24 and only 1 behind Inzamam-ul-Haq.[42]
- With his twin hundreds in the Karachi test against West Indies 2006, Mohammad Yousuf became the sixth Pakistani and 30th cricketer in Test cricket to hit a century in each innings of a Test match.[43]
- He is the third highest run scorer in One-Day Internationals amongst Pakistani batsmen. His average of 44.50 places second out of all Pakistani batsmen, following only Zaheer Abbas (47.62).[44][45]
- His Test average of 54.86 currently puts him in 10th spot for Test batting averages for players with more than 50 appearances.[46]
- He has scored a century at International level against all Test playing nations, and also on the shores of all test nations.[47][48]
The following tables illustrate a summary of the Test and ODI centuries scored by Mohammad Yousuf.[49][50]
- In the column Runs, * indicates being not out.
- The column title Match refers to the Match Number of his career.
Test match centuries
Test Centuries of Mohammad Yousuf # Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year [1] 120* 7 Zimbabwe Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 1998 [2] 115 20 West Indies Bridgetown, Barbados Kensington Oval 2000 [3] 103* 21 West Indies St John's, Antigua Antigua Recreation Ground 2000 [4] 124 25 England Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2000 [5] 117 27 England Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 2000 [6] 203 29 New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand Jade Stadium 2001 [7] 102* 33 Bangladesh Multan, Pakistan Multan Cricket Stadium 2001 [8] 204* 35 Bangladesh Chittagong, Bangladesh Chittagong Stadium 2002 [9] 146 36 West Indies Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah Stadium 2002 [10] 159 41 Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Queens Sports Club 2002 [11] 112 49 India Multan, Pakistan Multan Cricket Stadium 2004 [12] 111 55 Australia Melbourne, Australia Melbourne Cricket Ground 2004 [13] 104 58 India Kolkata, India Eden Gardens 2005 [14] 223 62 England Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2005 [15] 173 63 India Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2006 [16] 126 64 India Faislabad, Pakistan Iqbal Stadium 2006 [17] 202 67 England London, England Lord's Cricket Ground 2006 [18] 192 69 England Leeds, England Headingley Stadium 2006 [19] 128 70 England London, England The BRIT Oval Cricket Ground 2006 [20] 192 71 West Indies Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2006 [21] 191 72 West Indies Multan, Pakistan Multan Cricket Stadium 2006 [22] 102 73 West Indies Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 2006 [23] 124 [24] 112 80 Sri Lanka Galle, Sri Lanka Galle 2009 One Day International centuries
ODI Centuries of Mohammad Yousuf # Runs Match Against City/Country Venue Year [1] 100 10 Australia Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 1998 [2] 104* 26 West Indies Toronto, Canada TCSC Club 1999 [3] 100* 59 India Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangabandhu Stadium 2000 [4] 112* 91 Bangladesh Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangabandhu Stadium 2002 [5] 129 100 Sri Lanka Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Sharjah Stadium 2002 [6] 125 101 New Zealand Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 2002 [7] 141* 112 Zimbabwe Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Queens Sports Club 2002 [8] 100* 114 Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club 2002 [9] 106 141 Bangladesh Faislabad, Pakistan Iqbal Cricket Stadium 2003 [10] 107* 178 Sri Lanka Karachi, Pakistan National Stadium 2004 [11] 105 188 West Indies Perth, Australia WACA Ground (The WACA) 2005 [12] 101* 230 South Africa Durban, South Africa Sahara Stadium Kingsmead 2007 [13] 117 244 South Africa Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2007 [14] 108* 256 Zimbabwe Faisalabad, Pakistan Iqbal Stadium 2008 [15] 108* 258 Bangladesh Lahore, Pakistan Gaddafi Stadium 2008 Records
Test match records in 2006
Statistically, the year 2006 is said to be the year of Australia, Muttiah Muralitharan and Yousuf. Yousuf scored 1788 runs at an average of 99.88 in 2006 and broke two of Viv Richards's world records.[51]
“ It's excellent and slightly unbelievable what he has achieved. Nine hundreds in a year and that many runs is just magnificent. He is a very committed player and an excellent role model, not just for Pakistan but for young cricketers everywhere. ” — Former West Indies batsman Brian Lara on Yousuf's achievements.[52]
- On 30 November 2006, during the third innings of the final Test between Pakistan and West Indies at Karachi, he surpassed Viv Richards's thirty year old record and became the highest scorer in Test matches during a single calendar year.[52] He also broke Zaheer Abbas's record for the most runs made by a Pakistani batsman in a three-Test series. Abbas made 583 runs against the visiting Indians in 1978/79.[53]
- Yousuf hit nine test centuries in 2006, which is a world record for most centuries in a calendar year.[51]
- Yousuf also equalled the record held by former Australian batsman Donald Bradman, by scoring six centuries in successive Tests – although it took him only four matches compared with Bradman's six.[54]
- After his 191 at Multan he became the first player in Test history to have been dismissed 3 times in the 190s, with all three innings coming in 2006.[55][56]
Test batting records
Test career records by opposition[57] # Opponent Mat Inns NO Runs H/S Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0 4s 6s 1 Australia 11 21 0 622 111 29.61 1160 53.62 1 3 1 85 6 2 Bangladesh 5 6 4 503 204* 251.50 843 59.66 2 2 0 76 3 3 England 14 24 0 1499 223 62.45 2864 52.33 6 3 1 183 9 4 India 15 27 2 1247 173 49.88 2198 56.73 4 6 2 169 11 5 New Zealand 9 15 1 747 203 53.35 1634 45.71 1 5 3 95 5 6 South Africa 7 13 1 357 83 29.75 586 60.92 0 3 1 3 7 Sri Lanka 15 26 1 725 112 29.00 1505 48.17 1 3 1 79 8 8 West Indies 8 14 2 1214 192 101.16 2321 52.30 7 3 1 141 4 9 Zimbabwe 6 10 1 616 159 68.44 1261 48.85 2 5 1 87 2 Total 90 156 12 7530 223 52.29 14372 52.39 24 33 11 957 51 ODI batting records
ODI career records by opposition[58] # Opponent Mat Inns NO Runs H/S Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0 4s 6s 1 Africa XI 6 5 0 162 66 32.40 184 88.04 0 2 0 11 3 2 Australia 29 29 2 1016 100 37.62 1421 71.49 1 7 2 89 8 3 Bangladesh 18 16 6 893 112* 89.30 1034 86.36 3 5 0 81 10 4 England 26 24 4 772 81 38.60 1277 60.45 0 6 1 47 2 5 Hong Kong 2 1 0 28 28 28.00 28 100.00 0 0 0 5 0 6 ICC World XI 1 1 0 4 4 4.00 5 80.00 0 0 0 0 0 7 India 44 42 5 1430 100* 38.64 1728 82.75 1 12 1 116 15 8 Ireland 1 1 0 15 15 15.00 31 48.38 0 0 0 2 0 9 Kenya 2 1 0 18 18 18.00 17 105.88 0 0 0 1 0 10 Namibia 1 1 0 43 43 43.00 55 78.18 0 0 0 3 0 11 Netherlands 1 1 0 58 58 58.00 59 98.30 0 1 0 4 0 12 New Zealand 29 27 2 906 125 36.24 1199 75.56 1 5 2 89 8 13 Scotland 2 2 2 164 83* 164.00 232 70.68 0 2 0 17 0 14 South Africa 34 34 2 1116 117 34.87 1539 72.51 2 9 1 92 7 15 Sri Lanka 43 42 4 1284 129 33.78 19.18 66.94 2 5 5 94 13 16 West Indies 25 24 5 778 105 40.94 1022 76.12 2 3 2 55 5 17 Zimbabwe 24 22 8 1033 141* 73.78 1193 86.58 3 7 1 79 19 Total 288 273 40 9720 141* 41.71 12942 75.10 15 64 15 785 90 T20 batting records
Mohammad Yousuf played only three Twenty20 (T20) matches against England during 2006–10.[59]
T20 career records by opposition # Opponent Mat Inns NO Runs H/S Ave BF SR 100s 50s 0 4s 6s 1 England 3 3 0 50 26 16.66 43 116.27 0 0 0 5 1 Total 3 3 0 50 26 16.66 43 116.27 0 0 0 5 1 Awards
Yousuf was named the Test player of the year at the ICC Awards in 2007.[60]
Player of the Series Awards(Tests)
-
S No Series (Opponents) Season Series Performance[61] 1 England in Pakistan Test Series 2000/01 342 Runs (3 Matches & 4 Innings, 2x100, 1x50); 8 Catches 2 Pakistan in England Test Series 2006 631 Runs (4 Matches & 7 Innings, 1x200, 1x100 0x50); 1 Catch 3 West Indies in Pakistan Test Series 2006/07 665 Runs (3 Matches & 5 Innings, 4x100, 1x50); 1 Catch
Man of the Match Awards (Tests):
S No Opponent Venue Season Match Performance 1 Zimbabwe Lahore 1998 120* (206b, 15x4, 1x6); 1 Catch.[62] 2 Bangladesh Chittagong 2002 204* (243b, 34x4, 2x6); 1 Catch[63] 3 Zimbabwe Bulawayo 2002 159 (282b, 21x4, 0x6); & 2 Catch[64] 4 England Lahore 2005 223 (373b, 26x4, 2x6); 2 Catches[65] 5 England London 2006 202 (330b, 26x4, 1x6) & 48 (62b, 8x4, 0x6); 1 Catch, 1 Run out[66] 6 West Indies Multan 2006 56 (117b, 3x4, 1x6); & 191 (344b, 22x4, 0x6)[67] 7 West Indies Karachi 2006 102 (158b, 15x4, 0x6) & 124 (195b, 15x4, 0x6); 1 Run out[68] Man of the Series Awards(ODIs)
-
S No Series (Opponents) Season Series Performance[69] 1 Bangladesh in Dhaka 2000 Asia Cup 2000/01 295 Runs (4 Matches & 4 Innings, Bat Ave 147.50, 1x100, 2x50); 1 Catch 2 Pakistan in Zimbabwe ODI Series 2002/03 405 Runs (5 Matches & 4 Innings, Bat Ave. 405.00, 2x100 2x50); 0 Catches 3 South Africa in Pakistan ODI Series 2007 285 Runs (5 Matches & 5 Innings, Bat Ave. 71.50, 1x100, 3x50); 0 Catches
Man of the Match Awards (ODIs):
S No Opponent Venue Season Match Performance 1 Scotland Chester-le-Street 1999 81* (119b, 6x4, 0x6)[70] 2 West Indies Toronto 1999 104* (114b, 13x4, 0x6); 1 Catch[71] 3 India Brisbane 2000 63 (83b, 8x4, 0x6)[72] 4 West Indies Dhaka 2000 100* (112b, 9x4, 1x6)[73] 5 Sri Lanka Dhaka 2000 90* (130b, 7x4, 2x6); 1 Run out[74] 6 Bangladesh Dhaka 2002 112 (108b, 8x4, 2x6)[75] 7 Sri Lanka Sharjah 2002 129 (131b, 8x4, 3x6)[76] 8 Zimbabwe Bulawayo 2002 141* (147b, 13x4, 3x6)[77] 9 Zimbabwe Harare 2002 100* (68b, 8x4, 2x6)[78] 10 Netherlands Paarl 2003 58 (59b, 4x4, 0x6)[79] 11 Bangladesh Faisalabad 2003 106 (127b, 7x4, 1x6); 1 Catch[80] 12 Bangladesh Rawalpindi 2003 94* (131b, 5x4, 1x6)[81] 13 New Zealand Queenstown 2004 88* (106b, 10x4, 0x6); & 2 Catch[82] 14 India Birmingham 2004 81* (114b, 5x4, 1x6); 2 Catches[83] 15 West Indies Perth 2005 105 (100b, 9x4, 0x6)[84] 16 Scotland Edinburgh 2006 83* (113b, 11x4, 0x6); 1 Catch[85] 17 South Africa Lahore 2007 117 (143b, 9x4, 0x6)[86] 18 Bangladesh Lahore 2008 108* (103b, 11x4, 1x6); 1 Run out[87] Early years
His father Youhana Maseeh worked at the railway station, the family lived in the nearby Railway Colony. As a boy, he couldn't afford a bat and so swatted his brother's taped tennis ball offerings with wooden planks of various dimensions on surfaces masquerading as roads. As a 12-year-old, he was spotted by the Golden Gymkhana, though even then only circumstances dictated his ambitions and never thought of playing cricket. To make a living. He joined Lahore's Forman Christian College and continued playing until suddenly giving up in early 1994.[88]For a time he tried his luck driving rickshaws in Bahawalpur.[89]
Yousuf, hailing from poor background, was plucked from the obscurity of a tailor's shop in the slums of the eastern city of Lahore to play a local match in the 1990s. His well-crafted shots attracted attention and he rose through the ranks to become one of Pakistan's best batsman. He was set to work at a tailor's when he was pulled back A local club was short of players. They called him to make up numbers and made a hundred which led to a season in the Bradford Cricket League, with Bowling Old Lane, and a path back into the game.[90]
Conversion to Islam
Until his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was the fourth Christian (and fifth Non-Muslim overall) to play for the Pakistan cricket team, following in the footsteps of Wallis Mathias, Antao D'Souza and the Anglo-Pakistani Duncan Sharpe.[2] He also has the distinction of being the first and so far only Non-Muslim to captain the country, leading the team in the 2004–05 tour of Australia where he scored a century in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He converted to Islam after attending regular preaching sessions of the Tablighi Jamaat, Pakistan's largest non-political religious grouping, whose preachers include Yousuf's former team-mate Saeed Anwar and his brother. His wife Tania converted along with him and adopted the Islamic name Fatima. However the news was kept private for three months due to family reasons, before his announcement of their conversion publicly in September 2005.[91] [1] "I don't want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done," his mother was quoted as saying by the Daily Times newspaper. "We came to know about his decision when he offered Friday Prayers at a local mosque. It was a shock," his mother was reported as saying. However, Yousuf told the BBC that "I cannot tell you what a great feeling it is."[92] As part of his conversion, Yousuf officially changed his name from Yousuf Youhana to Mohammad Yousuf.
Former Pakistan cricketer and sports commentator Rameez Raja, who himself is Muslim, acknowledged the significance of Yousuf's new faith, "Religion has played an integral part in his growth not just as a cricketer but as a person."[52]
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- ^ http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan-v-south-africa-2010/content/current/story/480401.html
- ^ http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan-v-south-africa-2010/content/current/story/480522.html
- ^ http://www.cricinfo.com/faysal-2020cup-2010/content/story/482121.html
- ^ http://blogs.bettor.com/Mohammad-Yousuf-injures-hamstring-before-South-African-tour-a34937
- ^ http://thenews.com.pk/03-11-2010/Sports/13481.htm
- ^ http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C11%5C10%5Cstory_10-11-2010_pg2_6
- ^ Yousuf picks up groin injury minutes away from the toss
- ^ Moin, Khan (28 November 2010). "Yousuf should retire from ODI and T20s – Moin Khan". Jang Group. http://www.thenews.com.pk/28-11-2010/Sports/17750.htm. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
- ^ LG ICC Best-Ever Test Batting Ratings. LG ICC Cricket Rankings. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf Batting Test Ranking Statistics. LG ICC Cricket Rankings. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ LG ICC Test Batting Rankings. LG ICC Cricket Rankings. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ Most Runs, Pakistan – Test matches. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 18 April 2008.
- ^ Tests – Most Centuries. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ Tests – Century in Both Innings. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ ODI Career Batting – Most Runs. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ ODI Career Highest Batting Averages. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ Test Career Highest Batting Averages. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ Statsguru – Mohammad Yousuf – Tests – Innings by innings list. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 6 April 2007.
- ^ Statsguru – Mohammad Yousuf – ODIs – Innings by innings list. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 6 April 2007.
- ^ Statsguru – Mohammad Yousuf – Tests – Match by match list. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ Statsguru – Mohammad Yousuf – ODIs – Innings by innings list. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ^ a b A year dominated by Yousuf, Murali and Australia. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 9 February 2007.
- ^ a b c Yousuf breaks 30-year-old record. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 9 February 2007.
- ^ Most runs in a series, Pakistan – Test matches. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2008.
- ^ Record after record. Dawn.com Retrieved on 9 February 2007.
- ^ MoYo goes for Sir Viv's record. TimesOnline.co.uk. Retrieved on 9 February 2007.
- ^ West Indies in Pakistan Test Series – 2nd Test, 2006/07 season, Pakistan v West Indies. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 9 February 2007.
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf Test batting records against test nations
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf ODI Batting Statistics against different teams
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf T20 Batting Statistics against England
- ^ "Yousuf named Test player of the year as Aussies dominate ICC awards". Dawn.com. 12 September 2007. http://www.dawn.com/2007/09/12/spt1.htm. Retrieved 24 June 2010.[dead link]
- ^ Player 0f the series awards by Mohammad Yousuf, In 1st one he played as Yousuf YouhanaESPN Cricinfo
- ^ Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf's 4th Man of the Match AwardESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf's 5th Man of the Match Award ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf's 6th Man of the Match Award ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf's 7th Man of the Match Award ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Man 0f the series awards by Mohammad Yousuf, In 1st & 2nd he played as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 1st MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 2nd MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 3rd MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 4th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 5th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 6th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 7th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 8th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 9th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 10th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 11th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 11th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 13th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 14th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ 15th MOM-Award, Participated as Yousuf Youhana ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf's 16th Man of the Match Award ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf's 17th Man of the Match Award ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ Mohammad Yousuf's 18th Man of the Match Award ESPNCricinfo.com. Retrieved on 16 July 2011
- ^ http://www.mag4you.com/spotlight/spotlight.asp?title=Mohammad+Yousuf&content_id=6717&bhcp=1
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket/pakistan-will-prosper-with-a-leader-like-yousuf-20091230-ljwb.html
- ^ http://www.mag4you.com/spotlight/spotlight.asp?title=Mohammad+Yousuf&content_id=6717&bhcp=1
- ^ Youhana converts to Islam . Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 9 February 2007.
- ^ Pakistan's Youhana embraces Islam. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on 9 February 2007.
External links
Preceded by
Younus KhanPakistani national cricket captain
2009–2010Succeeded by
(ODI) Shahid Afridi
(Tests)Salman ButtPakistani batsmen with a Test batting average above 50 Minimum of 20 inningsBatsmen with a Test batting average above 50 Australia Donald Bradman (99.94) • Michael Hussey (53.26) • Ricky Ponting (53.13) • Greg Chappell (53.86) • Jack Ryder (51.62) • Steve Waugh (51.06) • Matthew Hayden (50.73) • Allan Border (50.56)England Herbert Sutcliffe (60.73) • Eddie Paynter (59.23) • Ken Barrington (58.67) • Wally Hammond (58.45) • Jonathan Trott (57.79) • Jack Hobbs (56.94) • Len Hutton (56.67) • Ernest Tyldesley (55.00) • Kevin Pietersen (50.48) • Denis Compton (50.06)India Sachin Tendulkar (56.25) • Vinod Kambli (54.20) • Rahul Dravid (53.00) • Virender Sehwag (52.26) • Sunil Gavaskar (51.12)Pakistan Javed Miandad (52.57) • Mohammad Yousuf (52.29) • Younis Khan (51.06)South Africa Sri Lanka West Indies George Headley (60.83) • Everton Weekes (58.61) • Garfield Sobers (57.78) • Clyde Walcott (56.68) • Charlie Davis (54.20) • Brian Lara (53.17) • Viv Richards (50.23)Zimbabwe Andy Flower (51.54)Minimum 20 innings. Current players are listed in Bold italics.Pakistani batsmen with an ODI batting average above 40 Minimum of 20 inningsBatsmen with a ODI batting average above 40 Australia Michael Bevan (53.58) • Michael Hussey (51.17) • Michael Clarke (45.35) • Dean Jones (44.61) • Matthew Hayden (44.10) • Shane Watson (43.15) • Ricky Ponting (42.63) • Callum Ferguson (41.43) • Damien Martyn (40.80) • Greg Chappell (40.18)England Jonathan Trott (51.37) • Eoin Morgan (40.45) • Nick Knight (40.41) • Kevin Pietersen (40.23) • Chris Broad (40.02)India Mahendra Singh Dhoni (51.15) • Sachin Tendulkar (45.16) • Virat Kohli (45.91) • Sourav Ganguly (41.02) • Gautam Gambhir (41.21)New Zealand Glenn Turner (47.00)Pakistan South Africa Hashim Amla (57.17) • AB de Villiers (46.68) • Jacques Kallis (45.48) • Boeta Dippenaar (44.00) • Lance Klusener (41.10) • Gary Kirsten (40.95) • Jean-Paul Duminy (40.87)West Indies Viv Richards (47.00) • Gordon Greenidge (45.03) • Ramnaresh Sarwan (43.41) • Shivnarine Chanderpaul (41.60) • Desmond Haynes (41.37) • Brian Lara (40.90)Ireland Paul Stirling (40.87)the Netherlands Ryan ten Doeschate (67.00)Minimum 20 innings. Current players are listed in Bold.Pakistan squad – 1999 Cricket World Cup Runners-up 1 Wasim Akram (c) • 2 Moin Khan (wk) • 3 Saleem Malik • 4 Ijaz Ahmed • 5 Waqar Younis • 6 Saeed Anwar • 7 Mushtaq Ahmed • 8 Inzamam-ul-Haq • 9 Saqlain Mushtaq • 10 Shahid Afridi • 11 Azhar Mahmood • 12 Abdul Razzaq • 13 Yousuf Youhana • 14 Shoaib Akhtar • 15 Wajahatullah Wasti • Coach: Mushtaq MohammadPakistan squad – 2003 Cricket World Cup 1 Waqar Younis (c) • 2 Abdul Razzaq • 3 Azhar Mahmood • 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq • 5 Mohammad Sami • 6 Rashid Latif (wk) • 7 Saeed Anwar • 8 Saleem Elahi • 9 Saqlain Mushtaq • 10 Shahid Afridi • 11 Shoaib Akhtar • 12 Taufeeq Umar • 13 Wasim Akram • 14 Younis Khan • 15 Yousuf Youhana • Coach: Richard PybusPakistan squad – 2007 Cricket World Cup 1 Inzamam-ul-Haq (c) • 2 Younis Khan • 3 Azhar Mahmood • 4 Danish Kaneria • 5 Iftikhar Anjum • 6 Imran Nazir • 7 Kamran Akmal (wk) • 8 Mohammad Hafeez • 9 Mohammad Sami • 10 Mohammad Yousuf • 11 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan • 12 Shahid Afridi • 13 Shoaib Malik • 14 Umar Gul • 15 Yasir Arafat • Coach: Woolmer
Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq were named in the original squad but injuries led to them being withdrawn.
Mushtaq Ahmed acted as temporary coach for Pakistan's final group game following the death of Bob Woolmer.Categories:- Pakistan One Day International cricketers
- Pakistan Test cricketers
- Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers
- ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers
- Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup
- Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
- Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup
- Derbyshire cricketers
- Lahore cricketers
- Lancashire cricketers
- Pakistani Muslims
- Converts to Islam from Roman Catholicism
- 1974 births
- Living people
- Pakistani cricket captains
- Wisden Cricketers of the Year
- Punjabi people
- Forman Christian College alumni
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