Sports Pundit
Cricket

Best Pakistan batsmen ever - Part I

It is always tough to pick a handful of players from a Test side with rich history.

It is always tough to pick a handful of players from a Test side with rich history. Picking top batsmen from Pakistan is certainly easier than picking batters from Australia, England or India but it’s not a straightforward job.

Pakistan team traditionally spoilt with abundance in fast bowling treasures, has produced some top quality batsmen. Though the list doesn’t include any current cricketer, here are the six I think will edge out the rest.

Majid Khan: Graceful, elegant and fluent, Majid was a stylist, flamboyant and perfectionist at the same time. Opening the innings, he had the ability to score runs quickly, even in test matches.

His ton against New Zealand at Karachi before lunch was definitive in depicting his class. Majid Khan struck fear in bowlers’ hearts, on one famous occasion at Lahore; Kapil Dev was petrified to such extent that he started bowling way outside leg stump to contain infuriated Majid. Majid started off as a bowler in his father’s image but injuries made him take up batting which came to him naturally. Touch artist>

Majid was also highly looked upon as an administrator when he served as Chief Executive Officer of PCB in late 90s. In a playing career spanning almost 20 years, Majid is regarded as one of the most stylish batsmen produced by Pakistan.

Mohammad Yousuf: Despite all the controversies associated with Yousuf, one has to give it to his silken grace. If India had Mohammad Azharuddin and VVS Laxman, Pakistan’s touch artist is Yousuf.

His best years may be behind him right now, but his ability to convert the best of the deliveries into boundaries thanks to his penchant to feather it to the fence is well chronicled. Of course, his Test average of 53 and the ODI average of 42 speaks volumes of his consistency as well.