Mohammad Yousuf recalls incidents from Multan’s 2006 Test between Pakistan and England

• 16 years ago, Mohammad Yousuf played a match-saving innings for Pakistan against West Indies in Multan.
• The former batsman is the team’s current batting coach.
• He also holds the record for the most Test runs scored in a single year with 1,788. 

Mohammad Yousuf, a seasoned player and the team’s current batting coach, reflected on some pleasant memories of the Green Shirts’ 2006 Test series against the West Indies on Wednesday in the lead-up to Pakistan’s second Test match against England in Multan.

In Multan sixteen years ago, the cricket player was a member of the team that competed against the Caribbeans.

The former batsman expressed his desire for Pakistan to win in an exclusive interview with Geo News while remembering his time playing on the field in the city of saints and monuments.

“A Test match is taking place in Multan after 16 years, which is a great thing. A large number of fans come here whenever there is a match. Hopefully, the Multan Test match will be good, and Pakistan will win,” he said.

“16 years ago, I played a match-saving innings in the Multan Test. I scored 56 runs in the first innings, and 191 runs in the second innings against the West Indies.”

“West Indies took the lead, thanks to Brian Lara’s double century. A good altercation between Brian Lara and Danish Kaneria made the Test interesting. After the altercation, Lara hit three sixes and a four,” he added.

The first Pakistani hitter to record a century during a Test was Yousuf. Yousuf assisted Pakistan on the final day of the second Test at Multan by guiding them out of a tricky situation and to safety. His brilliant 191-run innings helped Pakistan hold onto a 1-0 advantage.

Yousuf, who broke Sir Vivian Richards’ record by scoring 1,788 runs in 2006, now holds the record for the most Test runs scored in a single year. Richards, a West Indian icon, had previously held the record.

“In no way can I forget the year 2006. I can’t honestly state that I ran the most miles by myself that year. I gave it my all, and Allah blessed me for it “He continued.

The year he beat Richards’ record, he claimed that even though Richards was a terrific player and that he was nowhere close to him.

When discussing his track record, he said: “I was the player who scored the most runs in a calendar year, surpassing players like Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Javed Miandad, and Zaheer Abbas. Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar were unable to break the record.”

During the Ashes series last year, England’s Joe Root had the chance to surpass the former Pakistani batsman and Sir Viv Richards but fell short.

Following his removal on day three of the third Test against Australia in Melbourne for 28, he finished the year with 1,708 runs at an average of 61.00, placing him third overall behind Mohammad Yousuf (1,788 in 2006) and Viv Richards (1,710 in 1976).

The 48-year-old claimed that because he is passionate about the game, he is enjoying his current position as batting coach with the national team.

“Earlier, I used to come here for batting myself, and now I am guiding the batters. All of us coaches have only one focus the players do well under our guidance. I see batters like Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan Imamul Haq, and Abdullah Shafique scoring runs now. There are great batters like Salman Ali and Saud Shakeel,” he concluded.

After bowling out the hosts for 268 runs in the second innings, England defeated Pakistan by 74 runs in the first Test at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

The second Test between the two teams will take place at the Multan Cricket Stadium from December 9–13.