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PCB chairman Ijaz Butt meets Younis Khan

No breakthrough over captaincy issue

By Muhammad Ali

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt met Younis Khan here Thursday over the batsman’s decision to resign as captain of the national squad. There was no breakthrough and both parties failed to reach an agreement. Younis submitted his resignation in protest to the PCB chief during a hearing of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports in Islamabad Tuesday. The hearing was convened after committee chairman Jamshed Dasti said he would investigate reports that Pakistan had deliberately under-performed against Australia and New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy. Dasti later denied making match-fixing allegations and said his remarks had been misunderstood. Younis, who led Pakistan into the semi-finals of the competition, said he was shocked with talk about under-performing against Australia as Pakistan defended a low total of 205 against the world champions till the final ball. “Such allegations demoralised me and the team. I don’t think any honourable and respectable person can tolerate such accusations made publicly. Nothing is more important for me than my self respect. Cricket comes later.”

Sources said Younis had told Ijaz he would only withdraw his resignation if certain conditions were accepted by the board. “Younis has made his position clear and the ball is now in the court of the PCB,” sources added. Sources said there were also other issues behind Younis’ decision to resign, including his relationship with team-mates. “He now wants the board to appoint him captain until the 2011 World Cup so that any players having ambitions of replacing him know the situation clearly and just focus on their game.” The differences between Younis and some other players started during the last tour of Sri Lanka, mainly due to the strict attitude of the skipper who has a reputation of being a no-nonsense person. Sources said more players were backing all-rounder Shahid Afridi or Shoaib Malik as skipper and were even ready to revolt if Younis was restored as captain at this stage. There are clear signs that if the PCB eventually succeeded in convincing Younis to take over the captaincy, it may face a revolt from the players. And in case it succumbs to the player-power, the political and public pressure in favour of Younis will be killing for the board officials.

They said the PCB chief was also keen to resolve the crisis as soon as possible since there was pressure building on the board from all quarters to convince Younis to withdraw his resignation. “What is significant and will be interesting to see is how much leverage is Ijaz willing to give Younis and fulfill his demands, one of which is that he should be announced as captain until the next World Cup.” Younis led Pakistan to victory in the Twenty20 World Cup in July and a host of former Test players have urged him to withdraw his resignation. Cricket fans held a protest on Wednesday outside the PCB headquarters. Members of the North West Frontier Province Assembly, in Younis’ home province, demanded that action should be taken against Dasti while the Mutthaida-e-Qaumi Movement, a coalition partner in the government, said it was considering countrywide street protests.

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