From the fist-bump and hug to the rudimentary handshakes with the opposition, this is not how you imagined this would end. Although to be fair, the final result wasn’t how you imagined this would end either. On paper, the victory in the 3rd Test against Sri Lanka at Pallekele was one of the greatest in Pakistan’s Test history yet by the end it seemed inevitable, normal even. The understated celebration seemed to highlight that this was what Pakistan were supposed to do. Suddenly, all that had happened before was meaningless, to the point that the magnitude of the achievement was taken for granted. Nothing, in essence, could be more Younis-esque.
Perhaps, both the greatest tribute and tragedy of Younis Khan’s legacy is precisely this; do what is expected of you. Younis, unlike nearly every other Pakistani great, doesn’t have a collage of standout moments. The context is stripped away, his understated brilliance too, and all that is left are hazy memories rather than a single image which signifies his greatness.
Think of the best Younis innings of the past decade and you’ll start to understand why this is the case. Possibly his best knock was the 4th innings vigil against South Africa at Dubai International Crickt Stadium in Misbah-ul-Haq’s first series as captain. Pakistan went into the series having lost six of their last nine series (winning none). In the ten instances prior to that occasion, Pakistan’s average 4th innings score was a meagre 168. On this occasion Pakistan ended up batting out four sessions across the final two days to earn a draw against the best team in the world.
The role as a beacon of hope is one long played by Younis, yet he has often been the first player to feel the full force of the PCB and public’s wrath. His effort against the Proteas came in the aftermath of the now infamous 2010 England tour and the spot fixing scandal that followed. Returning to the side, Younis was responsible for bringing that hope back to Pakistan cricket. Misbah would later credit Younis’ innings in the UAE for their success the following season, and the Emirates becoming a fortress for Pakistan ever since. Yet try and recall that mammoth innings and there is nothing that immediately jumps out from memory, other than Younis’ metronomic scoring. This, essentially, is how he operates.
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Think back to his landmark series against Australia last year and once again it was others who were applauded for their efforts despite the excellence of Younis. It was Sarfraz (in the first Test), Misbah (in the second) and the work of the spinners that took the accolades, despite the series being won on the back of Younis’ work at the crease. Yet, beyond him sweeping the spinners to oblivion, there is nothing that springs to mind here either, other than Younis answering his critics with overdue runs in Australia.
This was best illustrated by Ahmer Naqvi’s article prior to Younis’ 100th Test. He selected five memorable performances from the batsman’s rollercoaster career, yet only one of those was since January 2015. In the mid-2000s – as Younis, Yousuf and Inzamam changed the landscape of Pakistan’s batting order – his presence was the glue that held everything together. He was the answer to a two decade long problem at number-three, and become the sidekick that his more flamboyant teammates needed. Since then, though, Younis and his bag of tricks have somewhat been taken for granted.
Of course Younis himself is partly to blame for this. The transcendence into popular culture and super stardom in Pakistan mostly comes as the result of bludgeoning one-day form, something Younis has failed to master over his 15 years of international cricket. He doesn’t have Javed or Inzamam’s legendary chases, nor does he have the impact or the numbers of Zaheer Abbas or Mohammad Yousuf. His style and consistency has become the yardstick he is measured by. Younis went into the mammoth chase in Pallekele, with Pakistan 13 for 2, as the greatest 4th innings batsman in Pakistan’s history. But if you tried to recall why that was the case, you could point to one, perhaps two, innings.
Being remembered has never been Younis’ greatest priority, but it may be time to change that. The final innings against Sri Lanka was concentrated Younis in its purest form. There was the stiff 4th innings target (no player with over 750 Test runs has a higher 4th innings average, nor does anyone have more 4th innings hundreds than Younis), an early entrance (no opener that Younis has played with has an average of over 45 except Saeed Anwar), the youngster at the other end and weight of history on his shoulders as Pakistan batting buckled, all for Younis to find solutions to. And, inevitably, Younis responded with a century (since 2007 Younis has converted 18 of his 28 50+ scores into hundreds), and a big century at that. In the end there was Younis, and that was enough for Pakistan.
When the time comes for Younis to retire, we’ll always have the stats to reflect on a marvellous career, but that will be unable to explain who he is and what he’s about. We’ll know that he stood up whenever needed, whenever there were question marks hanging over his selection or he felt slighted or even cast aside, but we won’t fully know what he was like out there in the middle. For that, finally, we have Pallekele.
