Veteran cricketer, Mohamamd Yousaf has steppd down as captain of Lahore Lions in favour of Pakistan T-20 captain Mohammad Hafeez for the National T-20 tournament.
“Yousaf has showed a big gesture and stepped down as captain on the pretext that Hafeez is the Pakistan captain and is the right choice to lead Lahore Lions in the national T-20 tournament”,said Lahore City Cricket Association President Khawaja Nadim Ahmed here on Saturday. He said Yousaf had a meeting with Hafeez and he conveyed his feelings and decision to him (Hafeez) who praised the gesture of Yousaf.
“Hafeez was not initially agreed on it but Yousaf made him realized that it is better if he leads the side as he has the honor of being the national captain of Pakistan in one day and T-20 formats”, he said. He rejected a questioner that Yousaf withdrew from the captaincy due to the pressure of Pakistan Cricket Board. “It has nothing to with PCB and this is the personal decision of Yousaf”, he added.
LCCA president welcomed Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision for shifting T-20 tournament to Lahore owing to security situation in Karachi. “It is very wise decision of PCB chairman to have the tournament in Lahore where adequate facilities are available at the three centres, Gadaffi stadium ,LCCA and Bagh-e-Jinnah grounds, for holding the matches in a smooth manner “,he added. “Lahore was to hold the event last year but it was shifted to Karachi at the last moment, owing to the outbreak of the dengue epidemic in the province. That was a precautionary step, and Lahore didn’t make any protest”, he said. Now when the event has come back to Lahore, there has been a bit of an outcry from Karachi. Reacting to that, Khawaja Nadim said: “No one city should have monopoly over hosting national or international cricket. Rather it should be evenly spread all over the country, with all major cricketing centers getting their due share.
And it can be said without any fear of contradiction that Lahore is and has been a major cricketing centre for well over a century. People in this city, like everywhere else in the country, too are quite keen on cricket and deserve the opportunity to watch it from the stands”.
More than anything else, said Khawaja Nadim, this also provides all concerned in these parts to refresh and improve on cricket organization skills and be well versed in tackling with the security issues.