Younus ‘determined’ to make comeback

Batsman confident of regaining form, says departmental side manager.

KARACHI:

Former captain Younus Khan is not going to give up just yet, said his departmental side manager, despite being shown the door for the ICC Champions Trophy — a snub that raised questions on the veteran batsman’s One-Day International (ODI) career.

Younus was dropped following heavy criticism over his poor form after the middle-order batsman failed to improve his performance in the recent tour of South Africa.

The 35-year old has been struggling in the format for months and his poor form continued against the Proteas as he managed to score just 116 runs in the five-match series.

However, the former captain is eyeing a successful comeback in ODIs by striking form in domestic cricket, said HBL manager Liaquat Ali.

The former captain will take part in the President’s Cup one-day event starting today in which he will lead HBL.



“Younus is as motivated as ever,” Liaquat told The Express Tribune on sidelines of the team’s training session at the National Stadium yesterday. “He is eager to regain his form in the upcoming event and has been preparing hard for this tournament. For Younus, the Champions Trophy snub is a temporary setback and he will overcome it. He feels he can still be good in the format and he wants to make a comeback.”

The HBL side underwent an extensive training session yesterday in which Shahid Afridi, Asad Shafiq and Imran Farhat were also seen in action.

Gul’s injury makes him doubtful

Meanwhile, Umar Gul’s prevailing knee injury has made him doubtful for the Champions Trophy in June.

Gul, part of a 30-man preliminary squad, did not feature in the last three ODIs against South Africa and will now miss the domestic tournament.

An official close to the selection committee added that Gul’s absence from the one-day tournament may also prompt selectors to rest him for the Champions Trophy.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2013.