Pakistan’s former skipper, Younis Khan, has vowed to continue his international cricket career despite being refused a spot from the One-Day series in West Indies.
Breaking his silence for the first time after the ICC World Cup 2011, Younis made it clear that he is not frustrated or upset at being sidelined for the five-match series, starting from April 23, 2011. "No, I am neither angry nor upset. This is part of a professional cricketer`s life. It is now up to the new players picked for the series to perform and prove they can replace the seniors," Younis said.
Although, the former captain had been refraining from interacting with the media since his return from the mega event, there were some rumours circulating that he had demanded money for giving an interview. However, Younis clarified that since stepping down from captaincy, he had decided not to speak much and just enjoy his game.
The former skipper put it in simple words that when he was captain of the side, he used to interact a lot with the media. Since he has left the responsibility, it is not necessary to talk to reporters.
Younis further expressed that it was good to see the media reacting positively after Pakistan’s World Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of arch-rival India. The middle-order batsman, who has 67 Tests and 221 One-Day caps to his credit, explained that the Pakistan team’s captaincy is an extremely difficult job. He admitted that it becomes tough for a captain to survive when groups and cliques within the team stand up against him.
Sharing his experience as captain of the Pakistan side, Younis stated, "When I was captain I remember telling that there was too much pressure on the person who captained Pakistan and this was not fair on him. I had also reminded that if this trend of criticising every decision of the captain or performance of the team continued then there will come a time when no one would like to captain the national team.”
After an ordinary performance in the World Cup, Younis has been dropped from the international squad. The legendary fast bowler, Wasim Akram, along with Pakistan’s limited-over skipper, Shahid Afridi, has already expressed that the veteran Younis Khan should have played with more responsibility during the showpiece event.
