Muhammad Yousaf (Pakistani Cricketer) - 1998 - 2010

Muhammad Yousaf (As Cricketer)

    Muhammad Yousaf is a former Pakistani cricketer. Prior to his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousaf was one of the few Christian players to play for the Pakistan cricket team. Coming from a poor background, Yousaf made a name for himself with his excellent batting and set many records in the history of cricket. Yousaf scored 7,500 runs in his Test career and 9,000 runs in his ODI career. Yousaf was also named the best Test cricketer of 2007 by the IC. He was also part of the controversial Indian Cricket League for some time. In 2009-2010, the Pakistan cricket team led by Muhammad Yousaf toured Australia where they lost. As a result, the Pakistan Cricket Board banned Muhammad Yousaf from playing international cricket for Pakistan on March 10, 2010 after an investigation. A statement from the board said he would not be selected for the next team as he had caused disciplinary issues and internal strife in the team. In response to the ban, Muhammad Yousaf retired from international cricket on March 29, 2010.

1. Early life

    Muhammad Yousaf was born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. His family converted from Hinduism to Christianity. His father John Christ worked at the railway station and his family lived near the railway colony. As a boy, Joseph could not afford to buy a bat, so he played with wooden planks and a tennis ball. At the age of 12, Golden Gymkhana assessed Yousef's talent, but even then Yousef did not think of making cricket his livelihood. Yousaf enrolled at Forman Christian College in Lahore and continued to play. In early 1994, Yousaf stopped playing and started driving rickshaws in Bahawalpur. Yousef, who hails from a poor background, also worked in a tailor's shop in the 1990's. During this time he played in a local cricket match. His excellent shots caught everyone's attention and started his journey towards becoming one of the best batsmen in Pakistan. He was working at a tailor's shop when a local club approached him due to a shortage of players. Yousaf's outstanding performances led him to the Bradford Cricket League, where he played for the Bowling Old Lane Cricket Club.

2. Accepting Islam

    

Prior to his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousaf was the fourth Christian to play for the Pakistan cricket team and the fifth non-Muslim player overall. He also had the honor of being the first and only non-Muslim player to lead the Pakistani team, when he led the team on a tour of Australia in 2004-2005 and also scored a century in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Knitting He converted to Islam after regularly attending the Tablighi Jamaat, the largest non-political religious movement in Pakistan. His preachers included Saeed's former cricket teammate Saeed Anwar and his brother. Yousaf's wife, Tania, also converted to Islam with him and gave him the Islamic name Fatima. However, after keeping the news secret for three months due to family matters, in September 2005, Yousaf declared his conversion to Islam. Speaking to Daily Times Pakistan, Yousaf's mother said, "I don't want to give her name after Yousaf's move. We learned of his decision when he offered Friday prayers at a local mosque. It was shocking news for us. "However, speaking to the BBC, Yousef said:" I can't describe this wonderful feeling of accepting Islam. " He changed his name from Joseph John to Muhammad Yousaf.

3. Career

Yousef made his Test debut against South Africa in Durban and his first one-day international against Zimbabwe in Harare. In his one-day career, Yousaf scored 9000 runs at an average of over 40 with the help of 15 centuries and 7000 runs with the help of 24 Test centuries at an average of more than 50 in Test matches. He also holds the record for most runs scored in an ODI without being dismissed. He scored a total of 405 runs in the series against Zimbabwe in 2002-2003. In addition to scoring a half-century off 23 balls and a century off 68 balls in ODIs, Yousaf also has the honor of scoring a half-century off 27 balls in Test matches. In his most successful years, in 2002 and 2003, Yousef was the leading run-scorer in ODIs. In December 2005, he played an innings of 223 against England in Lahore. Seven months later, in July 2006, when Pakistan toured England, Yousaf also scored 202 and 48 in the first Test match there, on the basis of which he was named Player of the Match. Yousef scored 192 in the third Test and 128 in the last Test of the series. In 2006, CNN-IBN named Yousef the Player of the Year against Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies' Brian Lara, Australian spinner Shane Warren and Sri Lanka's Matthias Murali Dharan. In 2007, he was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year. In 2007, Yousef was named Test Cricketer of the Year by the IC. He was the fourth player to receive the award. He scored 944 runs in 10 innings with the help of 7 centuries and 2 half centuries at an average of 94.40. Yousef is one of the best fielders. According to a report prepared by Kirk Info in late 2005, he was the seventh highest run-scorer in ODI cricket since the 1999 Cricket World Cup. His style of celebrating after completing the century was also his identity. Before converting to Islam, he used to make the sign of the cross on his chest to make a century, while after converting to Islam, he used to prostrate in the field towards Mecca. After signing a contract with the Indian Cricket League in 2007, Yousaf refused to play in the league due to pressure and threats from the Pakistan Cricket Board. In response, the Pakistan Cricket Board promised to include him in the Indian Premier League, but his bid could not be accepted due to a lawsuit filed by the Indian Cricket League. In 2008, when he was not selected for the national team, he again threatened to join the Indian Cricket League. Commenting on this, a PCB official said, "We have banned all our players from joining the Indian Cricket League and if Yousaf plays for such a league, they will face the same punishment." Will be. Yousaf is still our best batsman and he has a future with the Pakistani team, but not in the case of joining the ICL. However, Yousaf had decided to join the ICL. One of the reasons for Yousaf's decision was to replace Younis Khan with Shoaib Malik as captain. There were differences between Yousaf and Shoaib. Yousaf was finally banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board. On February 2, 2009, a Pakistani court annulled the ban on ICL players, raising the possibility of Muhammad Yousaf returning to Pakistani cricket. In July 2009, Muhammad Yousaf was part of the Pakistan squad for the Test series in Sri Lanka. He had already disassociated himself from the unapproved league in early May. Yousaf returned to cricket in July 2009 with a century. This was their first Test match since 2007. When Mohammad Yousaf and Abdul Razzaq separated from the Indian Cricket League, the Pakistan Cricket Board signed a 'A' category mid-term central agreement with them. Yousef informed the board that he would not be taking part in the 2008 Champions Trophy, as it would be in the month of Ramadan. About a year after Yousef's return, the board rests Younis Khan and appoints Mohammad Yousef as captain of the Test team for the tour of New Zealand. Mohammad Yousaf and former captain Younis Khan were banned indefinitely by the Pakistan Cricket Board on March 10, 2010 due to Pakistan cricket team's failed tour of Australia and breach of discipline. Rana Naveed Al Hassan was banned for one year.

4. Retirement and return

Muhammad Yousaf announced his retirement from international cricket on March 29, 2010, after being banned indefinitely by the Pakistan Cricket Board. "I received a letter from the PCB saying that my presence in the team is detrimental to the team, so I am retiring from international cricket," he told a press conference in Karachi. Two days earlier, on March 27, 2010, Yousef had also told AFP about his decision, saying, "Yes, I have decided to retire as a Pakistani player and my decision is not emotional." ۔ There is no point in playing if my playing is bad for the team. Yousaf was recalled for the rest of the series after the Pakistan cricket team lost the first Test of the series against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on August 1, 2010. Exhausted, Yousaf decided not to play the second Test. After the second Test match, Pakistan captain Salman Butt said that he expected Yousaf to return in the third Test. The selectors decided to field Youssef in the tour match against Worcestershire before the third Test to test his eligibility. The test was successful and Muhammad Yousaf scored an unbeaten 40 before the end of the match due to rain. In the third Test of the series against England, Yousaf was caught by Graeme Swann's ball on an individual set of 56 and he became the 100th victim of Swann in Test cricket. Despite being an old cricketer, generally known for not taking too many high shots and playing the only international T20 in 2006, Youssef also became part of the T20 series on this tour of England. He scored 26 off 21 balls. Joseph's return journey went well. He also played in a five-match ODI series against England, although Pakistan lost that series 3-2. Later, Yousaf was included in the Pakistan cricket team for the series against South Africa in October 2010. He was even considered for the captaincy, but the captaincy was given to Misbah-ul-Haq. In the Faisal Bank T20 Cup 2010-11, Yousaf led the local team Lahore Lions and defeated the Karachi Dolphins in the final. He suffered a hamstring injury while training for the series against South Africa in October 2010. Younis Khan was selected to replace Yousef Khan for the limited overs matches, who had not had a chance since the ban was imposed but had now settled his affairs with the board. Yousef recovered quickly and recovered before the five-match ODI series. In the one-day match, Yousaf's name was written in ink on the shirt he wore, which was against the rules. When the match referee was called, Yousaf said that since he had only come to play the Test series, he could not bring colorful clothes with him because he did not think he would be able to play the Test series. The IC finally acquitted him. Just moments before the toss of the first Test match, Youssef Grn suffered an injury. It took Yousaf two weeks to recover this time, as a result of which Yousaf could not play both Test matches. In view of the ongoing injuries, former Pakistan captain Moin Khan advised Yousaf that he should retire from ODI and T20 cricket and focus only on Test cricket due to his age and persistent injuries. In August 2012, Muhammad Yousaf was awarded the Medal of Merit.

5. Records (One day batting records)

In 2002, Yousaf was dismissed twice in four ODI innings and scored 405 runs, a world record.

5.1. Records Test records in 2006

Statistically, the year 2006 in cricket has been called the year of the Australian national cricket team, Matthias Murali Dharan and Yousaf. Yousef scored 1788 runs at an average of 99.33 in 2006 and broke Sir Wave Richards' two world records.

Yousef scored nine centuries in 2006, the world record for most centuries in a calendar year.

After scoring 191 runs in Multan, he became the first player to be dismissed after scoring 190 runs three times in Test history. All three innings were played in 2006.

On November 30, 2006, in the third innings of the last Test match between Pakistan and the West Indies in Karachi, he broke Viv Richards' 30-year-old record and became the leading run-scorer in Test matches in a calendar year. He also broke Zaheer Abbas' record for most runs in a three-Test series. Zaheer had scored 583 runs during his tour of India in 1978/79.

Yousef equaled former Australian batsman Donald Bradman's record by scoring six centuries in consecutive Tests - however, Yousef did so in just four of Bradman's six matches.

5.2. Records One-day batting records

In 2002, Yousaf was dismissed twice in four ODI innings and scored 405 runs, a world record.

5.3. Records T20 batting records

Muhammad Yousaf played only three T20 internationals against England between 2006 and 2010.

6. Honors

In 2007, Yousef was named Test Player of the Year at the IC Awards. * In 2011, he was awarded Star of Distinction by the President of Pakistan, which is the third highest honor of Pakistan.