Yusuf is known for being a fierce hitter of the ball capable of dispatching any bowler out of the park. He also chips in with useful off-spinners and is capable of containing batsmen. Although, Yusuf is the elder of the two Pathan brothers, Irfan picked up spot light earlier than him. Yusuf was not given much of a chance in the T20 World Cup to exhibit his talent, but to the surprise of many Indian Captain MS Dhoni chose to play him in the final against Pakistan. Although, Yusuf scored only 15 runs but he managed to give a flying start to India which helped them get to a good total.
Yusuf Khan Pathan was born in Baroda, Gujarat, India on 17 November, 1982. He is the elder brother of the famous Indian All-Rounder Irfan Pathan. Yusuf Pathan made his first class debut in 2001-2002 and after making solid contributions for his domestic side he was made part of the Indian squad for the Inaugural Twenty 20 World Cup held in South Africa.
After having a good domestic season in 2007-2008 Yusuf was given a contract of $475,000 with the Rajasthan Royals in the Inaugural IPL season. Yusuf made useful contributions for the Royals on many occasions and ended up scoring 435 runs in the tournament. He also scored the fastest half-century of IPL against Deccan Chargers in just 21 balls. Throughout the competition captain Shane Warne handed Yusuf the ball on many crucial junctures and Pathan did not disappoint. He took 8 wickets in IPL and balled several containing overs that restricted hard-hitting batsmen.
Yusuf made crucial contribution in the final of IPL against Chennai Super Kings; when the run rate was climbing high, Yusuf struck boundaries off a Muralitharan over. Yusuf created stable platform for the rest of the batsmen to come in and get the target. He was awarded the Man of the Match award for the final. Yusuf was also included in the Indian ODI squad but once again he could not get enough chance to show his talent. In the Twenty 20 Champions League to be held in India, Yusuf Pathan will be a strong weapon for the Rajasthan Royals and his team will depend upon his performance.
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