One of Pakistan's finest middle-order batsmen

Mohammad Yousuf will be remembered for his unhurried elegance and grace at the crease as much as for the runs he scored, but over his 12-year career he built up pretty imposing numbers as well. With a Test tally of 7431 runs, he is third in the all-time list for Pakistan, next only to Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq. In ODIs he is in second place with 9458 runs, behind Inzamam.

Yousuf scored only six runs in two innings in his debut Test, and in his first year, his four fifties and maiden century all came against Zimbabwe. Over the first three years of his international career he had his moments, but lack of consistency meant his average just about touched 40 after his first 27 Tests.

The graph started going up in 2001, when a maiden double-century against New Zealand in Christchurch was followed by a century and another double against Bangladesh early the next year. Over the next six years beginning 2001, he had a golden run in which he scored 18 centuries in 46 Tests, including nine during an unbelievable 2006, a year in which he scored 1788 runs in 11 Tests, which remains the most by a batsman in a single calendar year.

That peak was followed by an almost inevitable trough, as over the next three years his average dipped to less than 40, with only one century in 15 matches.

Overall, though, Yousuf has every reason to be proud of a glittering career. His performances at Nos. 4 and 5 rank him among the best batsmen ever at those positions. Among those who scored at least 4000 runs at those two positions, Yousuf's average of 55.83 is bettered only by four batsmen - Greg Chappell, Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar. In fact, it's a touch higher than Inzamam and Miandad.

During that golden phase from 2001 to 2006, Yousuf was the most prolific Test batsman going around, averaging more than 66. Ricky Ponting, Kallis and Rahul Dravid were the others with 60-plus averages during this period, but none of them could quite match Yousuf.

Despite scoring a bucketful of runs, though, there'll always be one question-mark against Yousuf, for his inability to turn on the tap against the two best bowling sides of his time - Australia and South Africa. In fact, that's a criticism that can also be levelled against the two other Pakistan middle-order giants of his generation, Inzamam and, to a lesser extent, Younis Khan. Younis averaged a respectable 38.08 against them, but Inzamam only averaged 33, and Yousuf less than 30. Yousuf only scored one century against those two sides in 18 Tests, though that was one of his best - when leading the team against Australia in the Boxing Day Test in 2004, Yousuf scored a dazzling 111, though Pakistan eventually lost the match. Yousuf's highest in 13 innings against South Africa was 83.

On the other hand, Yousuf was prolific against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and West Indies: in 19 Tests against them he scored 11 centuries, and averaged more than 101. There's a similar discrepancy between his home and away numbers too - his home average of 65.25 was 20 runs more than his away average.

Yousuf's ODI career didn't have as many sharp peaks, but he was consistent, averaging more than 35 each year from 2001 to 2008. The third and fourth positions were his favourites, as it gave him time to settle in and then work the ball and accumulate the runs. Among batsmen who scored at least 3000 runs at these two positions, Yousuf's average of 47.87 is next only to Viv Richards' 52.17. Yousuf also had 56 fifty-plus knocks in 162 games, an average of one such knock every three matches.

However, as in Tests, there'll be questions about his ability to be at his best in the big games. He averaged 31.41 in Australia, 32.16 in World Cup matches, and 28.66 in the finals of tournaments. He didn't have a single World Cup century, and only one in 19 finals.

Those stats slightly diminish what was otherwise an outstanding 12-year international career. Given the problems that Pakistan have been facing with their batting line-up, Yousuf's absence is a hole that will be very tough to fill.