Younis Khan formally announced his retirement from One-Day Internationals (ODIs) on Wednesday. It brought to an end a career that never quite took off despite lasting a decade and a half. Given Younis’ fantastic numbers in Test cricket, his ODI record is surprisingly barren. Younis will play one final ODI when Pakistan take on England in the first of the five-match series at Abu Dhabi. His numbers will not get any better though; in 264 ODIs he has played so far, he has scored 7,240 runs at a meagre average of 31.34 at a middling strike rate of 75.33 with a mere seven centuries and a disappointing 48 fifties. SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2015, 1st ODI at Abu Dhabi
While his status as a Pakistani great is secure in Tests, his corresponding status in ODIs is unlikely to be quite as illustrious. His inability to step up in ODIs — both in terms of consistency and scoring rate — undoubtedly hurt Pakistan, who lacked a lynchpin in the middle order after Inzamam-ul-Haq retired following the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. Pakistan’s highest run-getters in Test cricket: How the record changed hands over the time
The early signs were positive for Younis. He made his ODI debut in 2000, and got off to an impressive start. He made a crucial 41-ball 46 on debut batting at No. 7, but it was not enough to help Pakistan chase down the 275-run target set by Sri Lanka. A few games later he scored 48 and 44 in consecutive innings against South Africa and India at Sharjah, but both came at a sub-par strike rate, even for that era. Welcome, Younis Khan, to the league of legends
Despite getting his chances, Younis was unable to cement a spot in Pakistan’s ODI team because of his inconsistency. This changed when in 2002 he seemingly figured out the shorter format of the game. He scored 1,173 runs that year at 41.89, scoring 12 fifties. He had a decent run over the next few years, but was never outstanding. His peak in ODIs came in 2008, where he scored 865 runs in 18 matches at 54.06 with a strike rate of 97.19. Sadly for him and Pakistan, it proved to be his final flourish.
Younis bows out of ODIs as Pakistan’s sixth-highest run-scorer behind Inzamam, Mohammad Yousuf, Saeed Anwar, and Javed Miandad:
| Name | Period | M | R | HS | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 1991-2007 | 375 | 11701 | 137* | 39.53 | 74.2 | 10 | 83 |
| Mohammad Yousuf | 1998-2010 | 281 | 9554 | 141* | 42.08 | 74.91 | 15 | 62 |
| Saeed Anwar | 1989-2003 | 247 | 8824 | 194 | 39.21 | 80.67 | 20 | 43 |
| Shahid Afridi | 1996-2015 | 393 | 8027 | 124 | 23.81 | 116.94 | 6 | 39 |
| Javed Miandad | 1975-1996 | 233 | 7381 | 119* | 41.7 | 67.01 | 8 | 50 |
| Younis Khan | 2000-2015 | 264 | 7240 | 144 | 31.34 | 75.33 | 7 | 48 |
Younis will get to don Pakistan’s colours one last time when Pakistan take on England in the first ODI at Abu Dhabi. He will want to go out on a high, and hopefully guide his team to victory one last time. There were not enough match-winning innings in an unfulfilled ODI career.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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