‘Hapless’ Younis says he should not be blamed for team’s defeat against Lanka
July 16th, 2009 - 6:25 pm ICT by ANIKarachi, July 16 (ANI): Pakistan cricket captain Younis Khan is aghast with the way several former cricketers have criticized him after losing two consecutive Test matches against Sri Lanka, and blamed poor team spirit for humiliating defeats.
In an interview with a private television channel, a visibly upset Khan said he should not be blamed for the below par performance of senior players.
He said it was upto the country’s cricket authorities to decide whether these senior players should be axed from the team.
“I just inherited these players.I mean what can I do if players like Shoaib Malik and Misbah are failing regularly. If I just throw them out of the team, the whole of Pakistan will start talking that I’ve got rid of them. It is up to the authorities to decide what should be done about it,” Khan said.
Khan said he is trying his best to squeeze the best out of the team, and warned that discarding senior members at one go would serve a further blow to the team.
“After the 2003 World Cup, the Board decided to drop almost all the senior players and that turned out to be a bad move,” The News quoted Khan, as saying.
Several former cricketers have criticized the team for its lackluster performance in the ongoing three match Test series against Sri Lanka, which the hosts have already pocketed with an invincible 2-0 lead.
Former players such as Sarfaraz Nawaz and Inzamam-ul-Haq have blamed the unsporting attitude of the senior players for the loss.
“The situation in the team is not good. I can smell factionalism within the team and Younis is not doing his best to keep the team united, and that does not augur well for our cricket,” said Haq, one of the most successful captains of Pakistan cricket team.
However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has denied reports about any grouping in the team.
“There cannot be any chance of grouping in the team as I believe the captain has very good relations with senior players like Misbah-ul-Haq,” Butt said.
Butt has also ruled out the idea of sacking Younis Khan. (ANI)
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Tags: bad move, consecutive test, cricket captain, cricketers, inzamam, karachi, lackluster performance, misbah, nawaz, pakistan cricket board, pakistan cricket board pcb, pakistan cricket team, private television, shoaib malik, team spirit, television channel, test matches, test series, world cup, younis khan
