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Younis Khan : An Unheralded Cricketing Genius from Pakistan


A few moments ago before logging into my FB account, I had decided to put forth a post celebrating Younis Khan's 100th Test Match. But after logging in, the first news I encountered was of Sangakkara's retirement. So before proceeding with Younis' story, I offer the first of my three fingers' royal salute to the Great Lankan. Your services shall be sorely missed ‪#‎Sanga‬ throughout our cricketosphere.

Now coming back to Younis' story, it's been a fascinating one thanks in no small part to the culture, history and histrionics of his country of birth. But as he grew into his role as a senior statesmen in the Pakistani team and subsequently a captain, he contradicted the very perception of Pakistani Cricket, i.e. flamboyant brilliance mixed with head-scratching ridiculousness, at moments more often than any stastician might care. The very fact that he made his debut way back in 2000 and players such as Cook, Bell, Sangakkara and Michael Clark have already outnumbered him in Test numbers though making their debuts much later tells us a story of Younis' perseverence and frustration of Pakistan Cricket. As recently as September 2014, when Younis avenged the Australians in UAE and fulfillled his personal vendetta against them, Michael Clark paid his personal tribute to him saying that 'Younis is as good a player as I encountered anywhere', you can guess how much respect this guy has plundered.....this statement was coming from an Australian Captain and one of the finest cricketers of our generation.

Osman Samiuddin and Ahmer Naqvi, two of my favorite Pakistani sportswriters, did excellent profiles of Younis on Cricinfo and I experienced goosebumps while going through them. Just like Shiv Chanderpaul's, his hundreds too provided assurance to everyone that everything is fine with Pakistani Cricket and I at least believed it. Not to mention his personal losses, he lost on his father, older Sister, three brothers and a nephew while dedicating himself wholeheartedly to the service of Pakistan Cricket. All he wanted his life was to play test cricket for Pakistan but even that seemed very hard in front of unassisting authorities. Finally he achieved his destiny, his legacy. Sort of a comforting oasis among the depressing spreads of Pakistani cricket desert, this post offers the last of its three fingers' royal salute to ever smiling gentleman......Younis Khan........‪#‎TheLegend‬......‪#‎TheSmilingAssasin‬.......‪#‎UnadulteratedRespect‬

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