Former Pakistan skipper, Zaheer Abbas, on Friday backed struggling middle-order batsman Younis Khan to find his lost form soon, and has urged the selectors and team management to back the seasoned player through his lean patch. Younis Khan, the 34-year old right-handed batsman has not scored a century since November 2008 (againstWest Indies). Moreover, the former Pakistan skipper, who led the Men in Green to their lone World T20 title in 2009, has scored only two half centuries in the last 16 ODIs he played. “Lean patches come in every player’s career. He is a senior player and the team needs him,” said Zaheer Abbas, widely known as the “Asian Bradman”. “You just have to see his consistency in the past. And it’s not like our youngsters are outstanding so there’s no point in getting rid of him,” he added further. It has also been reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board selectors are mulling over restricting Younis Khan to the Test format only. But Zaheer Abbas, a veteran of 78 Tests and 62 One Day Internationals, is not reading too much into the unsatisfactory numbers Younis Khan has produced over the last couple of years, and is hopeful the experienced cricketer from Mardan would soon bounce back to his best. Speaking to reporters, the legendary Pakistan batsman said that Younis Khan is a class player and the PCB selectors should give him more time to prove his worth in the middle-order. Younis Khan is the most experienced cricketer in Pakistan’s current team, only after Shahid Afridi. However, his batting average is the best among all players. The right-hander made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi in February 2000. To date, he has played 76 Tests compiling 6398 runs at an impressive average of 52.44, including 20 centuries and 25 half centuries. No other batsman in the current Pakistan lot, averages above 50 in Tests.
