Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, surprisingly, took a wise decision of not allowing Younus Khan to return to the on-going Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad despite the star batsman’s apology after he quit the tournament last week in protest against ‘substandard umpiring’ in the event. This is for the first time the PCB has refused to bow-down to player-power and decided to take the bull by horns. Egoistic Younus was angry at several umpiring decisions in his team’s two matches, but denied misbehaving towards the umpires. Younus was found to have breached article 2.2.8 of the code. He was charged with questioning an umpiring decision, showing dissent and threatening an umpire. Following the match against Punjab, he refused to face a disciplinary hearing and left the tournament in protest. The PCB also found that Younus had breached various clauses in his category A central contract with Pakistan.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa skipper, Pakistan’s highest Test run-scorer, with 9116 runs in 104 Tests, contacted PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan on Monday to apologise for his misconduct. However, the PCB imposed a 50 percent penalty on Younus’ match fees and a show cause notice was also issued to him, which required an ‘explanation’ from the veteran batsman to the board in seven days time. “In light of the above pending disciplinary proceedings and due to the fact that a replacement player has already been added to the KP team, it has been decided, in the interest of the game, not to allow Younus to rejoin the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team in the Pakistan Cup,” said a PCB spokesman.

The former Test captain, who is also one of PCB’s advisors on cricketing affairs, expressed willingness to participate in the remainder of the tournament. He said: “It was obligatory for me to participate in the premier ODI domestic tournament for the larger interest of the promotion of the game in the country.” However the PCB chief clearly rejected Younus’ apology. “Younus has been a great servant of Pakistan cricket and a true role model for youngsters,” Shaharyar said. “I feel pained making this decision as we have to demonstrate that no one is bigger than the game. We will wait for Younus to respond before we proceed further in this matter,” he added.

Younus, with intense mood swings, is not new to controversies. He has been embroiled in a number of hullabaloos since his debut. On March 10, 2010, Younus was axed by the PCB from playing for Pakistan in any format for an indefinite period, following an inquiry report which suggested that he was involved in breaches of discipline by inciting divisions within the team. He had resigned as captain of Pakistan on a number of occasions, saying that he had lost command over the players, putting the PCB in an embarrassing position. He had flayed the PCB, selectors and his team mates many a time, inviting their ire. Last year the PCB criticised the decision of Younus to announce his retirement from one-day internationals, only one match into his recall to the team during a series against England in the United Arab Emirates. Younus made the shock announcement on the morning of the first ODI against England at Abu Dhabi, having previously been outspoken in his criticism of the selectors for dropping him in the wake of Pakistan’s World Cup 2015 exit in March. He was dismissed for 9 in his 265th and final appearance during Pakistan’s run-chase at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, bringing to an end a 15-year career in the format that had begun against Sri Lanka at Karachi in March 2000.