“Younis Khan troubled me a lot” – Harbhajan Singh opens up on Indo-Pak Tests during WTC 2023 final

Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh opened up on the India-Pakistan Tests during the ongoing ICC World Test Championship final on Day 4, Saturday (June 10). The off-spinner spoke about his rivalry with Pakistan batter Younis Khan, who used to frustrate him with his batting.

Harbhajan said that he didn’t like bowling to Younis, who is a former World No.1 Test batter. The two-time World Cup winner added that it was tough to play with eleven fielders against Younis and his teammate Mohammad Yousuf.

The 42-year-old told Star Sports:

“Younis Khan troubled me a lot. I didn’t like bowling to him. No bowlers want batters to sneak singles, especially when the field is set, as such that there are five fielders and the batter is still able to take singles. Younis Khan, when I used to see him, I would say (Yeh fir aa gaya [he has come once again]).”

He continued:

“When he used to bat with Yusuf, they used to take a lot of singles and doubles. I used to feel like there were nine fewer fielders in the team because they used to run as soon as they hit the ball. If you score a boundary, that’s all right, but singles off every ball, then how do we create pressure and take wickets?”

Younis averaged 166 in Tests against Harbhajan. The right-handed batter scored 332 runs in 542 balls against the off-spinner, getting dismissed only twice in his Test career.

The Pakistan batter also dominated Harbhajan in ODIs, scoring 103 runs off 104 balls, falling prey once in 2007.

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Harbhajan Singh once ran out Younis Khan on 199

Harbhajan Singh once ran out Younis Khan when he was on 199 runs in the Lahore Test during India’s tour of Pakistan in 2006. He produced a direct hit to leave the Pakistan dressing room and fans in shock who stood up to celebrate Younis Khan’s double century.

Harbhajan Singh, however, ended wicketless in the Test match, conceding 176 runs in 34 overs. The match ended in a draw after India posted 410/1 in response to Pakistan’s 679/7d.

Inzamam-ul-Haq led Pakistan, though, won the three-match Test series 1-0 against Rahul Dravid's side.

Younis Khan emerged as the Player of the Series, scoring 553 runs in five innings at an average of 110.6, including two centuries and as many fifties. Besides him, Yousuf also amassed 461 runs in three Tests at an average of 92.2.

Younis is the only Pakistan batter to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. Meanwhile, Yousuf holds the record for most runs in a calendar year in Tests (1788 in 11 Tests, including nine tons in 2006).

Click here to follow the WTC 2023 final scores.