Best Pakistani Test Opening Batsmen Featured

Top 10 Pakistani Opening Batsmen in Tests

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All Test Ratings on the website are from 01/01/1950 onwards (Know Why). Most of our ratings are dynamic, and as new matches are played, the rating of earlier batsmen may change if current batsmen set new benchmarks. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). Here are the Top 10 Pakistani opening batsmen in Test Cricket since 1950.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2025-02-15

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PRIMARY CRITERIA
3.1. PROLIFIC
3.2. CONSISTENT
3.2.1. Against All Teams
3.2.2. Against Top Teams
3.3. BIG INNINGS POTENTIAL
3.4. ATTACKING
3.5. PRIMARY RATING
4. CONDITIONS CRITERIA
4.1. HOME/AWAY
4.1.1. At Home
4.1.2. Away From Home
4.2. FAMILIAR/UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS
4.2.1. Familiar Conditions Rating
4.2.1.1. Asians In Asia
4.2.2. Unfamiliar Conditions Rating
4.2.2.1. Asians Outside Asia
4.3. CONDITIONS RATING
5. SECONDARY CRITERIA
5.1. TOP FORM AT HOME
5.2. TOP FORM AWAY
5.3. DIFFICULT RUNS
5.4. IMPACT INNINGS
5.5. SECONDARY RATING
6. OVERALL RATING
7. TOP TEAMS
7.1. Top Teams In Asia
7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia
Nations Filter

This rating filters the OVERALL Rating to show players only from Pakistan.

  • The Rating of the players from Pakistan remains the same as in the original OVERALL Rating.
  • Thus the Trend Setter can be from any nation and is not necessarily from Pakistan.
Position Filter

This rating filters the OVERALL Rating to include performances of opening batsmen. Innings played only at the specified position are counted in this rating.

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Runs, Average, Top Inns, Strike Rate
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary Top Form Home and Away, Difficult Runs, Impact Inns
The Trend Setter (TS)

TS is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Know All About TS. Here is an example:-

  • TS Runs: 2,000; Player X Runs: 1,000; Section Points: 250.00
  • TS Points: 250.00(Max); Player X Points: Runs/TS Runs X 250 = 1,000/2,000 X 250 = 125.00
  • Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Runs being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
Top Teams (TT)

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams. Here is some information about the Top Teams:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine top teams.
  • The top teams are calculated by decades.
  • Further, they are divided into In Asia and Outside Asia.
  • A batsman’s performace is counted in TT if it comes in the specific condition and in the specific decade.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

The Primary Rating is divided into 4 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Runs Scored 200.00
Consistent Average 500.00
Big Innings Potential Top Inns (Runs) 150.00
Attacking Strike Rate 150.00

PROLIFIC

The Eras

The time period from 1950 to present is divided into eras for this section. This is because less cricket was played earlier. To make it fair for earlier players they are compared with players of the same period with a slight reduction in points. Know More About Eras.

Era 1 MP before 1991
Era 2 MP between 1990 And 2016
Era 3 MP greater than 2015

Criteria: Points For Runs Scored

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS RUNS RAT
TS SM Gavaskar IND 1971 1987 1979 203 9607 180.00
1 Mudassar Nazar PAK 1976 1989 1982.5 109 3787 70.95
2 Hanif Mohammad PAK 1952 1969 1960.5 65 2638 49.43
3 Sadiq Mohammad PAK 1969 1980 1974.5 72 2480 46.47
4 Mohsin Khan PAK 1979 1986 1982.5 71 2455 46.00
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS RUNS RAT
TS AN Cook ENG 2006 2018 2012 278 11845 200.00
1 Saeed Anwar PAK 1990 2001 1995.5 86 3957 66.81
2 Mohammad Hafeez PAK 2003 2018 2010.5 101 3539 59.76
3 Taufeeq Umar PAK 2001 2014 2007.5 83 2963 50.03
4 Aamer Sohail PAK 1992 2000 1996 76 2630 44.41
5 Ramiz Raja PAK 1987 1997 1992 68 2103 35.51
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS RUNS RAT
TS DA Warner AUS 2011 2024 2017.5 202 8747 170.00
1 Shan Masood PAK 2013 2025 2019 54 1576 30.63

CONSISTENT

R Ave

Relative Average (R Ave) is a more accurate type of average. Know How It Is Calculated. Briefly, it takes into account:-

  • Strength of Opposition.
  • Positions at which a batsman has played.
  • Venues at which he has played.
  • Time Period in which he has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Runs 2500

Against All Teams

RANK BATSMAN INNS NO RUNS AVE R AVE RAT
TS UT Khawaja 72 9 3289 52.21 58.67 250.00
1 Saeed Anwar 86 2 3957 47.11 50.50 215.17
2 Hanif Mohammad 65 2 2638 41.87 46.70 199.00
3 Mohsin Khan 71 6 2455 37.77 38.78 165.24
4 Aamer Sohail 76 3 2630 36.03 38.09 162.31
5 Mudassar Nazar 109 6 3787 36.77 38.06 162.16
6 Mohammad Hafeez 101 7 3539 37.65 37.81 161.12
7 Taufeeq Umar 83 5 2963 37.99 36.89 157.20
8 Sadiq Mohammad 72 1 2480 34.93 35.64 151.87
9 Ramiz Raja 68 4 2103 32.86 33.64 143.32
10 Shan Masood 54 0 1576 29.19 31.17 132.81

Against Top Teams

RANK BATSMAN INNS NO RUNS AVE R AVE RAT
TS UT Khawaja 66 9 3069 53.84 60.51 250.00
1 Saeed Anwar 70 1 3215 46.59 49.95 206.36
2 Hanif Mohammad 61 2 2487 42.15 47.01 194.24
3 Aamer Sohail 60 2 2245 38.71 40.92 169.08
4 Mudassar Nazar 87 2 3076 36.19 37.46 154.76
5 Mohammad Hafeez 66 6 2192 36.53 36.69 151.60
6 Mohsin Khan 55 4 1750 34.31 35.23 145.56
7 Ramiz Raja 58 4 1804 33.41 34.20 141.28
8 Taufeeq Umar 59 4 1863 33.87 32.90 135.91
9 Sadiq Mohammad 62 0 1903 30.69 31.32 129.40
10 Shan Masood 47 0 1366 29.06 31.04 128.24

BIG INNINGS POTENTIAL

Ave HS

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 scores of the batsman in the specific condition. Average High Score (Ave HS) is simply the total runs in the 7 innings divided by 7.

Criteria: Points For Runs Scored In The Top 7 Inns

RANK BATSMAN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE HS RAT
TS V Sehwag 319 309 293 254 201* 201 195 253.14 150.00
1 Mohammad Hafeez 224 197 196 151 143 126 119 165.14 97.86
2 Mudassar Nazar 231 199 152* 152 126 124 120 157.71 93.45
3 Saeed Anwar 188* 176 169 149 145 136 126 155.57 92.18
4 Hanif Mohammad 337 160 142 111 104 103 103 151.43 89.73
5 Mohsin Khan 200 152 149 135 129 104 101* 138.57 82.11
6 Taufeeq Umar 236 135 135 130 111 111 104 137.43 81.43
7 Aamer Sohail 205 160 160 133 99 88 80 132.14 78.30
8 Sadiq Mohammad 166 137 119 105 103* 97 91 116.86 69.24
9 Shan Masood 156 145 135 125 100 75 68 114.86 68.06
10 Ramiz Raja 114 98 88 78 69 64 63 82.00 48.59

ATTACKING

R SR

Relative Strike Rate (R SR) is calculated using the same method as R Ave with average being replaced with SR. Batsman who were active in earlier times benefit from this as SR was generally low earlier.

R4BF

Balls played by batsmen for many inns is not available for earlier times. When such is the case, we have used Runs For Balls Faced (R4BF) to determine the Strike Rate. This is the runs scored by the batsman for the available data of balls.

Criteria: Points For R SR

Min Qualification For TS
Min Runs 2500
Min Average 25
RANK BATSMAN R4BF BF SR R SR RAT
TS V Sehwag 8207 9875 83.11 80.26 150.00
1 Aamer Sohail 2630 4672 56.29 62.59 116.97
2 Saeed Anwar 3957 7024 56.34 61.64 115.21
3 Mohsin Khan 2131 4182 50.96 56.98 106.50
4 Mohammad Hafeez 3539 6303 56.15 55.22 103.21
5 Ramiz Raja 1991 4184 47.59 53.53 100.05
6 Sadiq Mohammad 1072 2567 41.76 50.41 94.21
7 Hanif Mohammad 3 17 NA NA 93.45
8 Mudassar Nazar 3373 8320 40.54 46.26 86.46
9 Shan Masood 1576 3390 46.49 44.90 83.91
10 Taufeeq Umar 2963 6626 44.72 43.63 81.55

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is half of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 500.00 pts.

RANK BATSMAN PRO CON BIP ATT RAT PRI PTS
1 Saeed Anwar 66.81 421.53 92.18 115.21 695.74 347.87
2 Hanif Mohammad 49.43 393.24 89.73 93.45 625.84 312.92
3 Mohammad Hafeez 59.76 312.72 97.86 103.21 573.54 286.77
4 Aamer Sohail 44.41 331.38 78.30 116.97 571.07 285.53
5 Mudassar Nazar 70.95 316.91 93.45 86.46 567.78 283.89
6 Mohsin Khan 46.00 310.79 82.11 106.50 545.40 272.70
7 Taufeeq Umar 50.03 293.11 81.43 81.55 506.12 253.06
8 Sadiq Mohammad 46.47 281.27 69.24 94.21 491.19 245.60
9 Ramiz Raja 35.51 284.60 48.59 100.05 468.75 234.37
10 Shan Masood 30.63 261.04 68.06 83.91 443.64 221.82

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent conditions. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Rating Titles to see how they were calculated.

The four conditions criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
Home 250.00
Away 1,000.00
Familiar Conditions 250.00
Unfamiliar Conditions 1,000.00

HOME/AWAY

HOME/AWAY RATING

Points to note:-

  • U.A.E. is considered as a second Home for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  • All Home and Away stats of Pakistani and Afghani batsmen are calculated accordingly.

At Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Mudassar Nazar 48 2242 52.14 41.14 718.84 179.71
2 Saeed Anwar 38 1769 47.81 55.77 641.42 160.36
3 Hanif Mohammad 27 1158 44.54 NK 635.56 158.89
4 Mohammad Hafeez 52 2047 43.55 55.03 626.05 156.51
5 Aamer Sohail 31 1116 37.20 54.20 579.21 144.80
6 Mohsin Khan 38 1405 41.32 52.45 532.64 133.16
7 Ramiz Raja 26 900 37.50 45.36 505.08 126.27
8 Taufeeq Umar 43 1392 33.95 41.24 458.07 114.52
9 Sadiq Mohammad 27 841 32.35 29.25 401.15 100.29
10 Shan Masood 26 700 26.92 48.11 379.50 94.88

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Saeed Anwar 48 2188 46.55 56.80 673.44 673.44
2 Hanif Mohammad 38 1480 40.00 NK 561.09 561.09
3 Aamer Sohail 45 1514 35.21 57.94 517.37 517.37
4 Taufeeq Umar 40 1571 42.46 48.32 502.99 502.99
5 Sadiq Mohammad 45 1639 36.42 44.53 495.60 495.60
6 Mohsin Khan 33 1050 33.87 49.16 491.39 491.39
7 Mohammad Hafeez 49 1492 31.74 57.76 474.13 474.13
8 Shan Masood 28 876 31.29 45.27 457.38 457.38
9 Ramiz Raja 42 1203 30.08 49.59 423.33 423.33
10 Mudassar Nazar 61 1545 25.75 39.81 411.57 411.57

FAMILIAR/UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS

FAMILIAR/UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS RATING

Points to note:-

  • Unfamiliar Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for Asians and In Asia for Non Asians.
  • Familiar Conditions (FC) are the opposite.

Familiar Conditions Rating

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Saeed Anwar 51 2561 52.27 55.94 709.29 177.32
2 Mohammad Hafeez 68 2896 46.71 57.18 667.63 166.91
3 Mudassar Nazar 62 2591 45.46 40.43 637.99 159.50
4 Hanif Mohammad 44 1855 44.17 NK 615.40 153.85
5 Aamer Sohail 34 1296 39.27 56.25 582.04 145.51
6 Ramiz Raja 37 1343 38.37 45.32 504.72 126.18
7 Mohsin Khan 46 1523 37.15 52.43 490.24 122.56
8 Taufeeq Umar 60 2034 35.68 43.80 477.49 119.37
9 Shan Masood 28 838 29.93 48.69 406.71 101.68
10 Sadiq Mohammad 32 947 30.55 35.28 383.49 95.87

Unfamiliar Conditions Rating

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Saeed Anwar 35 1396 39.89 57.07 710.94 710.94
2 Aamer Sohail 42 1334 33.35 56.33 627.60 627.60
3 Sadiq Mohammad 40 1533 38.33 44.13 609.66 609.66
4 Taufeeq Umar 23 929 44.24 46.87 586.37 586.37
5 Mohsin Khan 25 932 38.83 49.18 570.91 570.91
6 Hanif Mohammad 21 783 37.29 NK 545.47 545.47
7 Shan Masood 26 738 28.38 44.22 479.95 479.95
8 Mudassar Nazar 47 1196 26.00 40.75 466.95 466.95
9 Ramiz Raja 31 760 26.21 51.77 447.03 447.03
10 Mohammad Hafeez 33 643 20.09 51.94 387.62 387.62

CONDITIONS RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BATSMAN AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 Saeed Anwar 673.44 160.36 710.94 177.32 1,722.05 172.21
2 Aamer Sohail 517.37 144.80 627.60 145.51 1,435.29 143.53
3 Hanif Mohammad 561.09 158.89 545.47 153.85 1,419.30 141.93
4 Taufeeq Umar 502.99 114.52 586.37 119.37 1,323.25 132.32
5 Mohsin Khan 491.39 133.16 570.91 122.56 1,318.01 131.80
6 Sadiq Mohammad 495.60 100.29 609.66 95.87 1,301.42 130.14
7 Mudassar Nazar 411.57 179.71 466.95 159.50 1,217.73 121.77
8 Mohammad Hafeez 474.13 156.51 387.62 166.91 1,185.18 118.52
9 Shan Masood 457.38 94.88 479.95 101.68 1,133.89 113.39
10 Ramiz Raja 423.33 126.27 447.03 126.18 1,122.81 112.28

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of four parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Rating Titles to see how they were calculated.

The four secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
Top Form Home 200.00
Top Form Away 800.00
Difficult Runs 500.00
Impact Innings 1,000.00
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a batsman.
  • There are two TF Ratings used in our OVERALL Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Mudassar Nazar 30 1634 65.36 48.41 713.97 142.79
2 Mohammad Hafeez 30 1490 57.31 60.28 633.20 126.64
3 Saeed Anwar 30 1510 52.07 54.89 613.01 122.60
4 Mohsin Khan 30 1308 48.44 55.34 562.37 112.47
5 Hanif Mohammad 27 1158 44.54 NK 533.19 106.64
6 Aamer Sohail 30 1094 37.72 54.78 512.30 102.46
7 Taufeeq Umar 30 1197 41.28 42.07 493.38 98.68
8 Ramiz Raja 26 900 37.50 45.36 410.47 82.09
9 Sadiq Mohammad 27 841 32.35 29.25 371.56 74.31
10 Shan Masood 26 700 26.92 48.11 355.08 71.02

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Saeed Anwar 30 1487 51.28 56.60 703.75 563.00
2 Hanif Mohammad 30 1354 46.69 NK 648.16 518.53
3 Mohammad Hafeez 30 1180 40.69 61.91 610.81 488.65
4 Taufeeq Umar 30 1309 46.75 46.78 581.28 465.02
5 Sadiq Mohammad 30 1265 42.17 44.80 578.72 462.97
6 Aamer Sohail 30 1058 36.48 58.75 539.15 431.32
7 Mohsin Khan 30 1022 36.50 49.20 530.63 424.50
8 Mudassar Nazar 30 985 32.83 42.13 471.18 376.95
9 Shan Masood 28 876 31.29 45.27 468.19 374.55
10 Ramiz Raja 30 847 30.25 47.95 428.07 342.45

DIFFICULT RUNS

DIFF RNS RATING

Points to note:-

  • Difficult Runs are runs scored in the first and fourth innings after losing the toss.
  • Only performances against Top Teams are considered in this rating.

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Mudassar Nazar 15 638 45.57 44.74 672.75 336.38
2 Mohammad Hafeez 16 497 35.50 59.88 545.95 272.98
3 Aamer Sohail 15 405 31.15 61.36 502.20 251.10
4 Hanif Mohammad 6 231 38.50 NK 500.00 250.00
4 Shan Masood 8 123 15.38 33.24 500.00 250.00
6 Saeed Anwar 11 351 31.91 50.21 485.20 242.60
7 Taufeeq Umar 19 545 32.06 44.53 482.44 241.22
8 Ramiz Raja 15 344 31.27 50.74 447.26 223.63
9 Mohsin Khan 13 294 22.62 40.00 365.59 182.80
10 Sadiq Mohammad 10 142 14.20 38.95 256.23 128.12

IMPACT INNINGS

Impact Innings (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact in terms of runs or Strike Rate. Know All About II. Points to note about II:-

  • 1st & 2nd and 3rd & 4th innings are clubbed together.
  • A Batsman should score at least 30 runs to qualify.
  • An Inn is included in II if it is 20% of the total runs of the higher total or
  • The runs are more than 12.5% of the total runs and
  • The SR is high or in a successful chase while being Not Out.

Min Innings: 50

RANK BATSMAN DIS II II/Dis% RAT WTG
1 Saeed Anwar 84 27 32.14 803.16 803.16
2 Aamer Sohail 73 15 20.55 563.54 563.54
3 Hanif Mohammad 63 13 20.63 471.36 471.36
4 Taufeeq Umar 78 15 19.23 469.10 469.10
5 Mohsin Khan 65 14 21.54 460.21 460.21
6 Sadiq Mohammad 71 13 18.31 452.40 452.40
7 Shan Masood 54 8 14.81 370.87 370.87
8 Mohammad Hafeez 94 15 15.96 370.67 370.67
9 Mudassar Nazar 103 18 17.48 363.85 363.85
10 Ramiz Raja 64 8 12.50 327.20 327.20

SECONDARY RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the OVERALL Rating, i.e. 250.00 pts.

RANK BATSMAN TF HM TF AW DIF RNS II TOT SEC RAT
1 Saeed Anwar 122.60 563.00 242.60 803.16 1,731.36 173.14
2 Aamer Sohail 102.46 431.32 251.10 563.54 1,348.43 134.84
3 Hanif Mohammad 106.64 518.53 250.00 471.36 1,346.53 134.65
4 Taufeeq Umar 98.68 465.02 241.22 469.10 1,274.02 127.40
5 Mohammad Hafeez 126.64 488.65 272.98 370.67 1,258.94 125.89
6 Mudassar Nazar 142.79 376.95 336.38 363.85 1,219.97 122.00
7 Mohsin Khan 112.47 424.50 182.80 460.21 1,179.98 118.00
8 Sadiq Mohammad 74.31 462.97 128.12 452.40 1,117.80 111.78
9 Shan Masood 71.02 374.55 250.00 370.87 1,066.44 106.64
10 Ramiz Raja 82.09 342.45 223.63 327.20 975.37 97.54

OVERALL RATING

The OVERALL Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts. Half the points are for Primary Criteria; one-fourth for Conditions; and one-fourth for Secondary Criteria.

RANK OV RANK BATSMAN NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 12 Saeed Anwar PAK 347.87 172.21 173.14 693.21
2 34 Hanif Mohammad PAK 312.92 141.93 134.65 589.50
3 47 Aamer Sohail PAK 285.53 143.53 134.84 563.90
4 57 Mohammad Hafeez PAK 286.77 118.52 125.89 531.18
5 58 Mudassar Nazar PAK 283.89 121.77 122.00 527.66
6 59 Mohsin Khan PAK 272.70 131.80 118.00 522.50
7 61 Taufeeq Umar PAK 253.06 132.32 127.40 512.79
8 68 Sadiq Mohammad PAK 245.60 130.14 111.78 487.52
9 77 Ramiz Raja PAK 234.37 112.28 97.54 444.19
10 78 Shan Masood PAK 221.82 113.39 106.64 441.85

TOP TEAMS

Top Teams In Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS WI PAK IND ENG
1960s WI AUS PAK IND NZ ENG
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ IND
1990s IND PAK SA AUS SL WI
2000s AUS IND SL PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG NZ SA
2020s IND AUS PAK NZ ENG SL

Top Teams Outside Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS ENG WI SA
1960s ENG AUS WI SA NZ
1970s SA ENG WI AUS IND
1980s WI NZ AUS ENG PAK
1990s AUS SA WI PAK ENG NZ
2000s AUS ENG SA IND NZ PAK
2010s SA AUS ENG NZ IND PAK
2020s AUS ENG NZ SA IND WI

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