The candid side of Younus Khan

Century maker, elegant batsman, prolific scorer, Pakistan national team’s anchor — the cricketing prowess of Younus Khan has earned him countless titles over a span of 16 years in both international and domestic arenas.

But sitting in the midst of 80-odd cricket enthusiasts, analysts, writers and fans at The Second Floor (T2F) in Karachi, it was a candid Younus Khan who came to the fore to answer questions and relive the early days as well as the highlights of his career.

An event jointly hosted by the British Alumni Association Pakistan (Sindh and Balochistan Chapter) and the British Council, ‘Younus Khan, An Exclusive Discussion’ was all about the veteran’s life on and off the field, with special emphasis on his initial foray into the highly competitive sport of cricket.

In Younus’ own words, it was far from an easy task to make a name in Karachi with the likes of heavyweights Saeed Anwar, Basit Ali, Rashid Latif and Moin Khan dominating the metropolis’ cricket. Undeterred, the Mardan-born moved to Peshawar, where his domestic career took off in earnest.

Recalling his first experience against an international side, Younus touched upon the pressure of facing Sri Lanka while playing for Pakistan A. Amid the audience’s gales of laughter, he narrated the first match’s ordeal where the hosts were skittled out for just 39 runs after being asked to bat first on a moisture-laden pitch.  This was the point where the ‘resilient’ facet of Younus emerged, as instead of taking the embarrassing defeat to heart, he took it in his stride and went on to score 70-odd runs in the very next match.

Moving on to more recent feats, Younus gleefully related the motivation behind the double century against India in 2005.

Pakistan had lost the second Test in Kolkata by 195 runs, with Younus scoring 147 in the first innings and a duck in the second. The whole team gathered to discuss what had went wrong, with the team’s manager telling all players what should have been done by each and every member of the team, blissfully unaware of the need to encourage and motivate the team on their better performances.

That was the fuel to the already smouldering fire in Younus’ drive for the loss’ revenge; he not only struck 267 in the first innings of the third Test, but also remained unbeaten at 84 in the second. Another aspect of Younus’ personality was revealed: taking the negative flak and turning it into a positive catalyst for a brilliant performance.

Speaking of which, Younus was reminded of his most recent reaction to the standoffish treatment at the hands of the Pakistan Cricket Board; smashing three centuries against a full-strength Australia and becoming the only Pakistani to score a ton against all nine Test-playing nations. The modest cricketer gave credit to the moral support of his friends, family and well-wishers for the amazing feat.

The words ‘motivation’ and ‘prayers’ were abundant in the 37-year-old’s conversation, whether it was the reason behind the 2009 World Twenty20 win (when he was the captain) or the ability to become only the third Pakistani to score more than 8,000 Test runs. Not even once did the down-to-earth Younus attempt to give himself airs for achieving what he did.

The discussion closed with Younus expressing two of his utmost desires going into the 2015 World Cup: to open a series of training academies all over the country for aspiring cricketers and to live long enough to see a Pakistani crossing the 10,000 Test-run mark.

Maybe Younus is the one who will put Pakistan on that pedestal. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd,  2014.

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