Pakistan’s discarded star middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf has termed the T20 cricket as more damaging to the game than any other thing. Talking to journalists here at the Gaddafi Stadium, Yousuf said that the youngsters tune into 20 batting style in a bid to achieve big in a short span of time and in the process lose their wickets to a mediocre playing style. “The game of cricket requires patience and the T20 version is damaging the temperament of the new coming players. The only possible way to check the slump of decline in temperament is to minimize these events at the lower level of the game,” he maintained. Yousuf, who was dropped from the Pakistan team due to fitness issues last year, believes that youngster should be kept away from T20 game. “Although there is lot of money involved in this version of the game and the public interest is also very high all due to the thrill, but this version should be held only at the board level and should be abandoned at the lower level,” he added. “The cricketers are getting out in an effort to play in hurry. Instead of staying on the wicket, they come and hit the ball,” he added. He added that youngsters are failing in international arena due to this format as they do not learn patience which is required for other formats of cricket. He claims that the batting standards have been deteriorating since T20 became popular. Speaking about the chances of Lahore team in the local T20 tournament, Yousuf said that the team was capable of performing well despite the absence of Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz.
