It is not about this match …..it is his overall approach to odi in last few years…yousaf shares the same class as of inzi, ponting, kalis, sangakara, jay etc and these players always play long innings but they usually maintain a very good strike rate…..inzi used to be the same way….he used to score at a very healthy strike rate right from beginning……
Other problem with yousaf is his inability to switch gears……..what is point of scoring 50 odd runs by consuming 80 or 90 balls when you cannot score next 50 in 30 balls…I don’t recall any innings by him lately where he switched his run-rate dramatically…malik, razaqq, misbah (inzi as well) all are capable of doing it but yousaf plays balls on merit till the end….that is why it is even more important for him to maintain a healthy strike rate throughout…and that requires a different approach to building your innings from the very beginning…..look for gaps more diligently, run hard, don’t let a loose ball pass you unpunished….that is how all great players build their innings…
i have no idea what exactly yousaf was thinking in the match against Australia….if I remember correctly, between 25th and 45th over, Pakistan scored 80 odd runs with plenty of wickets in hand! Yousaf was there for the whole time…and it is because yousaf is not capable of accelerating like many other players, so his role as an anchorman needs a little different approach…let me give you few examples to illustrate my point…bevan, ranatunga, dravid, kallis are players who were also not big hitters and were never able to accelerate dramatically ..therefore they always used to ensure that they keep ticking the scoreboard and score around 80% strike rate…
And younis is simply in a bad form, that is all. Yousaf is in good form, so his approach is up for discussion. Plus yousaf is a superior player to younis khan..so more is expected of him.
No one is asking for his departure. Yousaf, in my opinion, will be the nucleus of Pakistani ODI team in the coming year but he needs to bring some urgency and swiftness in his batting approach…
You never know it may be a team strategy. Yousuf is capable of scoring runs at good pace also (ok he might not be a swinger like Razzq, Nazir etc). All the other examples that you gave always have other players around them so they are sort of free to play with Ponting has hayden, hussey etc, Kallis have smith, devilliers etc and Inzi always had yousuf to cover. Name ONE batsman who pakistan can depend in case of yousuf’s departure.
I can BET that had yousuf got OUT trying to play YAHOO inning agasint Aus and NZ, Pakistan would have not even reached to respectable totals.