No thanks: Younus declines captaincy offer

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The Pakistan Cricket Board wanted senior batsman Younus Khan to captain the national team in ODIs after the retirement of Shahid Afridi but he declined the offer insisting he wanted to focus on his batting. In the back drop of the reports of his refusal and chances of Shoaib Malik making a comeback, the likely chance is that the all-rounder might be handed the captaincy of the ODI and as well as T20 team.
The offer to Younus was made as the Board wanted to reduce the workload on Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq who leads Pakistan in all forms of the game. According to a report, the Board wanted Younus to lead the side in limited overs cricket so that Misbah could focus on Test matches.
“Younus was asked to become limited-overs captain but he refused the offer straightway,” the PCB official said. “He said he just wanted to focus on his batting and was not ready to take captaincy as his wish was to stay away from controversies.
“We respect his feelings and won’t be forcing him to take the job. The board has now decided to rely on Misbah with the hope that he will perform and stay fit for a longer period. At least, he will be captaining the series against Sri Lanka and England in all formats,” he said. Younus had captained Pakistan in 2009 and also led them to the World Twenty20 win the same year but after an internal revolt, he stepped down in acrimonious circumstances in Abu Dhabi.
“Younus had stepped down himself because he felt the players didn’t support him,” a source recalled.
After being out of the national team for nearly eight months, Younus made a return in last year’s series against South Africa in the UAE and since then has been a regular member of the team in all formats. The report said the move to approach Younus was made when Afridi was removed as captain of the national one-day and Twenty20 squads after the troubled West Indies tour where the flamboyant all-rounder developed serious differences with head coach Waqar Younus over selection issues on the tour. Afridi announced his retirement in protest in late May although the Board retained him in the national team that went to Ireland for a one-day series. Afridi first pulled out of the one-day series and then announced his retirement in protest.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Younus is a straight forward person and is not tainted with any cricket related issue so it is better for him to say Big No to any format of cricket. Good for him to concentrate only on his fitness and cricket. Yes, Shoaib's comeback is good for the cricket and can be a choice for OD and T20 captaincy.

  2. afridi should come back in any case………… we all want him back as a pakistan cricket team captain……. AFRIDI BHAI PLEASE COME BACK .. :(. YOU ARE THE BEST…:(

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