Two other players Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik were banned for a year by the six-man committee set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to investigate the December-February tour, in which Pakistan lost the Test series 3-0, the one-day matches 5-0 and the only Twenty20 match.
The committee — who held intensive and lengthy hearings with several of those involved in the tour — blamed a feud between Yousuf and Khan for the disastrous results, and recommended that the former skippers "should not be part of the national team in any format."
"Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan keeping in view their infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team, their attitude has a trickledown effect which is a bad influence for the whole team should not be part of national team in any format," read the PCB statement.
The PCB said in a statement that the "recommendations of the inquiry committee have been accepted by PCB in totality." Other recommendations included a 3-million-rupee ($35,500) fine and six months' probation for all-rounder Shahid Afridi for biting a ball during a one-day match.
"For the shameful act of Shahid Khan Afridi, which has brought the game and country into disrepute, he be fined Rupees Three Million," the statement read.
"A warning be issued to him by the Chairman PCB and he be put on probation for 6 months, during which his conduct be strictly monitored." Two other players were also fined and put on similar probation, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal.
The PCB said in conclusion that the radical disciplinary action will go down as being an historic day for the sport in Pakistan.
"The recommendations of the Committee will go a long way to arrest the continuing decline Pakistan cricket and improve the state of cricket in Pakistan. It is a landmark exercise which is an outcome of labor and hard work of the members of the Committee."
Former cricket greats were divided over the decision, with some saying it further tarnished Pakistan's global reputation at a time when many teams are staying away from the nation because of attacks by Islamist militants.
"What sort of message are we delivering to the world by taking such decisions at a time when nobody is agreeing to come to Pakistan to play cricket?" former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq told Cricinfo.
Former captain and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif also told the website he thought the players had been treated unfairly.
"This is not the way to improve things in Pakistan cricket," he said.
"I am getting a feeling that the board has taken these decisions to save themselves after the recent poor performances and controversies."
But ex-skipper Zaheer Abbas said discipline issues had got out of control and something had to be done.
"The decision is beneficial even if we lose in the Twenty20 World Cup. The move has a lesson for budding players. They will always have in mind that if senior players can be punished, then they too are no exceptions," he said.
In Abu Dhabi, England have their best chance of winning the Ashes in Australia later this year since their 1987 series victory, former captain Michael Vaughan said on Wednesday.
"It's probably the first time an England side will go Down Under for many years with a real good chance. We've never really competed Down Under since 1987," Vaughan told reporters.
England suffered a humiliating 5-0 whitewash in the last series in Australia after Vaughan had led the team to the Ashes in 2005 — their first since 1987.
"The England side has a good vibrancy about them and they have a good amount of confidence," he said.
However, Vaughan thought the return to form of Kevin Pietersen and the team's batting performance would be key to success in the series which starts in November.
"Maybe one area we'll probably have to work hard on and get right is our batting. Getting big first innings runs in Australia will be key," he added.
Vaughan, who played 82 tests for England, thought the five-day game was still key to the sport despite the rising popularity of Twenty20.
"Twenty20 has brought a new audience and a new vibe into the game of cricket and a lot of new people are playing the game because of Twenty20," he said.
"But test cricket is still clinical and it's still the game that all players feel they're most tested." The five-Test Ashes series starts in Brisbane on Nov 25.
