Daily Times

LAHORE: In a surprise move, legend Younus Khan has stepped down from his job as batting coach of the Pakistan senior team. Younus has parted ways with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which is always in the news for all the wrong reasons, only six months after he accepted a two-year contract. He won’t be travelling with the national outfit on their overseas tours of England and West Indies. Younus was appointed last year in November until the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. In addition to his role with the national team, Younus was also appointed to run the Batsmen Development Programme at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi. As usual, in a diplomatic statement, the PCB said on Tuesday that the decision was agreed upon “reluctantly but amicably” even though no reasons were specified for it. Following the announcement, speculations were rife that Younus himself had decided to quit the position as he was not happy with his role and wanted greater say in selection matters. He also had reservations over the interference of other coaches in the national team. And above all, he was not satisfied with the way the national team was being prepared for the future. He also wasn’t involved in the recently-concluded camp for the Test squad at the High Performance Centre and had returned back to Karachi.

Both the PCB and Younus have agreed to not to make any further comment on the reasons for the former captain’s departure. Commenting on the development, PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said yesterday that it was sad to lose an expert of Younus’ stature and experience. “Following a series of discussions, we both have reluctantly but mutually and amicably agreed that it was time to move in different directions. I want to thank Younus for his contributions during his short stint as the men’s national cricket team’s batting coach and hope he will remain available to assist the PCB by sharing his vast knowledge with the emerging cricketers,” he said.

Pakistan had mixed results since he took over as batting coach. In five overseas Tests in England and New Zealand, Pakistan drew two and lost three before beating South Africa across formats at home and in the white-ball formats away, followed by a successful tour to Zimbabwe, which included series wins in the T20Is and Tests. Pakistan men’s national cricket team will tour the UK from June 25 to July 20 for three ODIs and three T20Is, while the West Indies tour will be from July 21 to August 24 where the visiting team will feature in five T20Is and two Tests.

Younus, who remains Pakistan’s top Test run-getter with over 10,000 runs, has had his fair share of problems with the PCB. In 2007, he refused to captain the Pakistan team in the Champions Trophy after he didn’t get time to meet with the PCB Chairman. In 2009, he resigned as captain after a revolt by some players against his leadership style. At the fag end of his career, he even returned a cash award given to him by the PCB as he was not happy with the treatment meted out to him by the authorities. It is pertinent to mention that last year Younus had travelled with the team to England during the summer on a short-term stint as a batting consultant, with the PCB keen to fully integrate him into the coaching system. Younus’ integration into the Pakistan coaching set-up had not been straightforward, as the former batsman had turned down the PCB on two previous occasions. The PCB had earlier tried to rope him in to work at the development level at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), but those talks didn’t materialise into anything concrete. One of the sticking points had to do with finances, while the other was with the job profile, as the PCB had proposed for Younus to be only a mentor and coach, while the former captain wanted a bigger say in the national team’s selection as well.