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| October 07, 2006 | Saturday | Ramazan 13, 1427 |
Captaincy brings extra pressure: Yousuf
LAHORE, Oct 6: Pakistan’s newly-appointed captain Mohammad Yousuf said here on Friday that while he was confident of team’s good show in the ICC Champions Trophy, captaincy had put extra pressure on him to lead from the front.
"The board has placed a heavy responsibility on me in the absence of Inzamam and, God willing, I will give my level best to come up to everyone’s expectation."
“One is under pressure whenever leading a side. Even being a senior player puts you under pressure, but I am confident the responsibility will not affect my performance," Yousuf added.
Yousuf was named makeshift skipper on Thursday following a dramatic volte-face by Younis Khan who refused the captaincy at a press conference by stating that he did not want to be a dummy captain.
Yousuf, while talking to Dawn, said that Indian pitches were similar to Pakistan and he did not foresee any major problems for the team there.
He dispelled the impression that the unity of the team had suffered due to Younis’ decision on Thursday. "I don’t think so. We are all united to perform for the country and what happened on Thursday is now a matter of the past. I know Younis very well and he is a very cooperative guy," he said.
Asked about the reasons behind Younis’ sudden withdrawal from the job, Yousuf said he was not aware what really caused the unfortunate incident to come about.
Commenting on his average faring as skipper in the past on Pakistan’s last tour to Australia, a fact also highlighted by former captain Imran Khan, Yousuf said he was more mature now and was feeling confident about handling the team.
Reposing faith in Pakistan side for the coveted trophy in India, Yousuf said his team was capable of winning the title though the competition was a tough one. "Our team can beat any side, but in one-day cricket you can't take any team lightly. In such type of cricket, whoever performs on the given day will win," he said.
He added that he had accepted the responsibility of captaincy on the call of his spiritual leaders from 'Dawat-i-Islami'. "My spiritual leaders of 'Dawat-i-Islami say that ‘Do not demand anything but if God gives you something accept it with thanks’” remarked the bearded batsman prior to the start of last day of the three-day training camp.
Meanwhile, team’s vice-captain Abdul Razzaq said that the new assignment was a big responsibility and had come to him quite unexpectedly. "Everything happened within hours and when I received the news I couldn’t believe it," Razzaq said.
He stated that it was up to the PCB to give responsibility to any player and he did not make any effort for it. The all-rounder stressed that the players will perform well in the ICC Champions Trophy. "I don't think the pitches will create any problem for us as we are used to playing on such tracks in Pakistan," he said.
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