Younus will be missed: Afridi

Afridi said Wednesday he wanted Younus Khan for the England tour but issues of disciplinary problems came in the way.


June 23, 2010

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said on Wednesday that he wanted senior batsman Younus Khan to be picked in the squad for the upcoming tour of England but issues ranging from lack of match-practice to past disciplinary problems came in the way.

According to PTI, Afridi said he did pick the touring squad by himself. It was selected jointly by him, the coach and the national selection committee.

"I wanted Younus to be in the team but besides the issue of his recent form there was also a bit of a disciplinary issue with Younus," Afridi said in an interview.

Afridi, who stood out in the Asia Cup with his two blazing hundreds against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh despite Pakistan failing to quality for the final, said he was satisfied with the team selection despite the criticism from some quarters.

"One must understand I don’t alone pick the team. The input of the coach and selectors is also involved in this process."

Afridi also made it clear that pacer Shoaib Akhtar was recalled to the team for the Asia Cup only to play in one day internationals and Twenty20 cricket.

"We don`t want to waste him or damage his remaining career by playing him in test cricket," Afridi said.

The all-rounder felt he managed to shine individually at the Asia Cup as he did not allow the pressure of captaincy to get to him.

"The truth is that in the Twenty20 World Cup, I had taken the pressure of captaincy which affected my individual form as well but this time I focused on my own performances," he said.

Afridi who will return to Test cricket, against Australia, in July after a four-year gap said he was satisfied with the performance of his players in the Asia Cup.

COMMENTS (2)

talha | 13 years ago | Reply Looks funny, how mr Afridi discuss thing for which he is totally unknown. The man who has not played test match for the last 4 years and just made a hundred in one day after 5 years. I don't believe that the seniors selectors are handicap in the hands of politics and cannot decide a talented team. Except salman butt, we don’t have a single recognized batsman like Zaheer abbas, javed miandad, saeed anwer, inzaman ul haq, muhammad yousaf, younas khan. Just imagine we are playing with 5 openers and we don’t have any proper players for number 2,3,4, slot. Shoaib malik, Shahid afridi, Kamran Akmal, Imran farhat, abdur razak are just average players and cannot have the temperament to mange the stress of international cricket at England level. They are the best team only against Bangladesh, Zimbabve and Hong Kong. If we want to win on the basis of player’s politics and prayers then the team is good otherwise, we are discouraging the real hero’s of Pakistan and losing the strength of talented players for the next world cup.
Yusaf Khan | 13 years ago | Reply Yes - It's really funny that Afridi is talking about the disciplinary issues and the recent form of Younis Khan. Afridi has not played test cricket in four years and made himself unavailable because he had lost the passion for it. As for discipline issues, it would have been better if Afridi looked in the mirror before casting stones. Do I need to remind him of taking a bite out of the ball, that lovely pirouette on the pitch and the spectator that nearly took his "boom boom" bat in the face? The fact of the matter is that Younis Khan has not kissed Ijaz Butt's behind. Butt is angry with Younis for trying to clear his name in the court of law the right way rather than taking the cricket world's equivalent of the NRO. Afridi obviously does not want Younis around because he realizes that Younis is a much better captain. Its a real shame that such a beautiful sport has been tarnished with the malaise that afflicts Pakistan.
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