Former Pakistan cricketer and a legend of the game, Younis Khan, was undoubtedly one of the finest batsmen, world cricket has ever seen. A Test average of over 50 decorated with a triple-hundred makes him a classy batsman of all-time. As a captain too, Younis had enjoyed success especially when he led Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title in 2009.
However, Younis then left captaincy and shocked everyone. Now, after many years, the 47-year-old has finally laid bare the reason why he had to quit as the captain of the national team in 2009. The Mardan-born batsman told that his fault was just that he spoke the truth and drew attention towards a group of players who were not “pushing themselves hard”.
Younis said that he never felt any regret as it was a lesson he received from his father to be always honest and humble, but there were few players who regretted later.
“You often face a situation in life where if you speak the truth, you are considered as a madman. My fault was pointing out to a group of players that they were not pushing themselves hard enough for the country,” Younis told Gulf News.
“The players were, however, regretful later and we played for teammates long enough after that. I know I had nothing wrong for it’s a lesson that I had learnt from my father to always speak the truth and always remain humble,” he added.
The incident that Younis referred to occurred in 2009 when he had admitted losing command over the team. It was reported that 8 to 9 players from the Pakistan side conspired to unseat the legendary batsman from the captaincy position.
“I told him I feel as If I have no command over this team. And if a leader has no command over its players, what is the point of continuing to lead? I also told him that the last 3-4 months have been very trying times for me, not just with the cricket but all that has happened outside it. I need time to get myself together now,” Younis Khan had claimed back then.
Even former Pakistani speedster Rana Naved ul Hasan had backed the claims of Younis. While speaking to a local news channel, Rana had said that some senior players machinated in order to dethrone Younis.
“We lost two ODI matches against New Zealand in the UAE during 2009 because some of the players involved deliberately did not play well,” Rana had said.
