Why Younis quit: Shaharyar snub and tussle in team Friday, October 06, 2006 at 0000 hrs Print
Karachi, October 5:
The indifferent attitude of fellow players and a perceived snub by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan are the two reasons which seem to have prompted Younis Khan to step down from captaincy this morning. Two days before Champions Trophy, Younis says won't be dummy captain After a dramatic day that saw Younis declining to lead Pakistan during the Champions Trophy, and Mohammed Yousuf taking over as new captain, it is learnt that a string of events over the past few days triggered the crisis.
Sources close to Younis said that he was unhappy with the attitude of some players during the camp with the Shaharyar incident this morning adding fuel to the fire.
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He was unhappy and apprehensive about the attitude of players, including Yousuf, (Abdul) Razzaq and Shahid Afridi, on the first day of the conditioning camp yesterday. To make matters worse, Shoaib Akhtar's 'I am superior' attitude also bothered him," said the sources.
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This morning when he went to see Shaharyar Khan, he was made to wait outside the office and was told that Shaharyar was at a meeting, something which has never happened when Inzamam-ul-Haq was captain," they said. "Younis was not interested in captaincy in the first place, even after Inzamam was banned for four matches by the ICC last week. But strangely, Inzamam, after his disciplinary hearing, himself announced in London that Younis would be captain," the sources said.
"For the last one week
Younis had been apprehensive, because he knew the above players were not in his favour of holding the captaincy. It was a case of their attitude in the camp that convinced him to step down from captaincy and just play as a batsman," they added.
During his meeting with board officials today,
Younis made it clear that he had made up his mind as he could not compromise with his self-respect, PCB sources added.
It was a stand that threatened his place in the team, they said. PCB Director (cricket operations) Saleem Altaf, during an emergency meeting of the Board's Ad-hoc Committee that named Yousuf as skipper, had suggested that Younis be dropped for the Champions Trophy, but other members said this would only deepen the crisis, the source said.
It is learnt that some top PCB officials had also met Younis to convince him to change his mind but he didn't relent.
"Inzamam and assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed also met him and took him to see Shaharyar Khan, but that didn't change the situation," the source said.
PCB media director Abbas Zaidi said it was "unfortunate" and "regrettable" that Younis chose to announce his withdrawal from captaincy without consulting the Board.
Zaidi said that while Younis had told the PCB chairman that he didn't want to be captain, he also expressed regret over the manner in which he chose to make his decision public.
A close friend of Younis, meanwhile, dismissed theories that he had resigned as captain because of the selection of young Faisal Iqbal as a replacement for Inzamam in the team. "That is not true although Younis had his apprehensions about the composition of the team owing to attitude of some players," he said.
The friend also ruled out the possibility of Younis withdrawing from the captaincy because the PCB chose Inzamam as captain for the upcoming home series against the West Indies starting November 7.
Younis's mentor and former captain Rashid Latif said Younis' decision was a "sad day" for Pakistan. "To him, there is nothing greater than honour and respect. The Board should find out the real reasons (behind this)," he said.
Edited by mini2390 - 18 years ago
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