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| Pakistan cricket |
| Afridi T20 captain, Younis Test and ODI captain, stressed Bari |
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| Date: 05 November, 2009(Thursday) |
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Bipin Dani and Umar Farooq Kalson
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Print Version  |
Cricdb understands that it sounds unlikely that Younis return to Twenty20 Cricket since we already have Shahid Afridi in command for the particular shorter format. Younis Khan may now be wanting to come out from his Twenty20 retirement, but it sounds unlikely now. "As on now, Shahid Afridi is the captain for the shortest version of the game while Younis Khan is our Test and ODI captain", Bari stressed.
Younis, who retired from T20 cricket after leading Pakistan to the Twenty20 World Cup title at England in June, said he might be persuaded to make a comeback to shortest form of the game if his teammates were willing to accepted him in the squad. Interestingly Younis retired from the T20 citing that he is 'too old for the format' instead the demand and consenting by his teammate.
Inconsistency is the notable aspect of Younis career as recently he offered his resignation after ICC Champions Trophy in protest at match-fixing allegations made against the team by a senior member of parliament, which was later have been widely rejected as untrue.
Younis, 31, who was supposed to be the automatic choice to succeed Inzamam-ul-Haq but veteran batsman had rejected offers to lead Pakistan after the 2007 World Cup disaster, forcing the PCB to turn to a younger and less experienced Malik. He however accepted the captaincy early this year after the PCB removed Shoaib Malik from captaincy following a one-day home series defeat to Sri Lanka in January.
Unlike in Australia, where the team is picked first and captain thereafter among the team members, the PCB (and not its selectors) is empowered to name the skipper. The procedure is also being followed in Bangladesh.
Iqbal Qasim remained in the shadows of his team-mate, leg spinner Abdul Qadir, although his career returns are superior by average and very similar by strike rate. Pakistan's 57-year-old chief selector Iqbal Qasim, who replaced Abdul Qadir recently as a chief selector, could not have expected a better result here when the Younis Khan-led team established a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand on Tuesday.
Playing at their "adopted" home in Abu Dhabi, Qasim conveyed the team selection meeting, which for the first time, was restricted only to the captain (Younis Khan) and coach (Intikhab Alam). The dropping of experienced Shoaib Malik from the final eleven may have raised a few eyebrows, but ultimately the result counts.
"We have decided to follow the Australian policy and now onwards one selector on all tours will be a member of the tour selection committee to pick the final eleven," Wasim Bari, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said."It will be the chief selector's decision whom among his colleagues to depute on overseas tours," he further added.
The present selection committee includes former Test pacer Saleem Jaffer, who served as a selector under Qadir, Ijaz Ahmed, Mohammad Ilyas and Azhar Khan. Asif Baloch and Farrukh Zaman are the other co-opted members of the panel.
The appointment of this selection committee is an effort by the PCB to normalise things in the national cricket set-up after Qadir created a major controversy during the World Twenty20 Championship when he stepped down and accused board officials of meddling with selection affairs.
By opting to have the soft-spoken Qasim as the new chief selector, the PCB has decided to bring more stability within the selection process. Qasim, who has served as a selector in the past, is also a respectable figure in national cricket circles.
The PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, who was scheduled to return to Lahore after India visit, is likely to remain present during the final ODI here on November 9. "He will be attending the Governing Body meeting on November 7 before coming to UAE for the final leg of the tournament," Bari further added.
© Cricdb
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Team |
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| 1 |
India |
| 2 |
South Africa |
| 3 |
Australia |
| 4 |
Sri Lanka |
| 5 |
England |
| 6 |
Pakistan |
| 7 |
New Zealand |
| 8 |
West Indies |
| 9 |
Bangladesh |
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| Pos |
Team |
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| 1 |
Australia |
| 2 |
India |
| 3 |
South Africa |
| 4 |
New Zealand |
| 5 |
England |
| 6 |
Pakistan |
| 7 |
Sri Lanka |
| 8 |
West Indies |
| 9 |
Bangladesh |
| 10 |
Zimbabwe |
| 11 |
Ireland |
| 12 |
Kenya |
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