Former Pakistan captain and senior batsman, Younis Khan has caused a stir in the cricket circles by openly suggesting that he is not happy with the behavior of Test captain, Misbah-ul-Haq and head coach Waqar Younis. In an interview to “Express” channel, Younis without taking names openly suggested that he had not been treated fairly by the captain and coach.
“I don’t know if I had not scored those 177 runs in the fourth innings of the third Test in Sri Lanka what would have happened. Most probably I would have been dropped. But this is not the way to treat senior players they need to be given confidence and I have always played for and give my best for Pakistan,” Younis said.
His comments have only given authenticity to rumors that some of the players are not happy with the behavior of Misbah and Waqar towards them and there have been incidents where the two have openly run down players in the dressing room.
Younis, a veteran of 101 Tests and 264 one-day internationals, also made it clear he was not happy at being dropped from the one-day squad.
“Why can’t I play one-day cricket. What is wrong with me. Am I not fit or good enough. If I had been given a chance in the recent home series against Zimbabwe I would definitely have got runs. “In the World Cup also I was not sure whether I would play or not. Against South Africa at the last minute I was inducted because of the injury to Haris Sohail I scored 37 valuable runs. I have scored runs against every strong opposition so why can’t I play ODIs. I have also gone up and played against any side when others have backed down,” he added. Younis also made it clear that no one should make any comparisons between him and Misbah-ul-Haq.
“Misbah bats down the order. I go up. It is easier to bat down the order because the ball is old. I am more experienced and have played more matches so there is no comparison.” He also said that one reason for the inconsistent performances of Pakistan in one-day cricket was because of the instability in batting order. “In Test cricket the number five or six is settled while in ODIs there have been frequent changes and this does not allow for players to settle down. Players need to be given chances,” Younis said. “One should not panic after one or two bad results. Fawad Alam till recently was being spoken off as a potential captain and vice-captain now he is not in the run. Sarfaraz Ahmed still does not have a settled batting position.
” Younis also reiterated his ambition to lead the country one more time before he decides to retire from the game. He also spoke about instances where some players had people sit in enclosures with banners in their favors. He also criticized the coaching courses conducted by the cricket board insisting more thought need to be given to coaching as it was a specialized field. Younis also spoke in favor of having a foreign coach and said Bangladesh is a prime example of how they had improved under a foreign coach.
