LAHORE, April 5: Younis Khan’s strong reservations over player-power destabilising his candidature as future Pakistan captain has been the main reason behind his reluctance to accept the honour, informed sources said on Thursday.
Information gathered by Dawn reveals that while Younis remains the top choice of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for taking over the mantle from Inzamam-ul-Haq, he is unwilling to sign on the dotted line due to his rocky relationship with some seniors players in the side.
Inside sources confirmed that PCB chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf had, offered the captaincy to Younis earlier this week with certain terms and conditions and is now awaiting a reply from the right-handed batsman.
The sources added that the Peshawar-born player is yet to make up his mind about accepting the new role since he feels that a group of senior cricketers who have been playing loyalists to former skipper Inzamam are likely to create problems for him in his future assignment.
On his part, the PCB chief has apparently assured Younis on cricket board’s firm drive to curb the player-power and has vowed to put together a powerful disciplinary committee to check the menacing trend.
The PCB, sources say, has also informed Younis that he will get a well-defined job description as skipper with enough powers at his disposal to lead the side with confidence. The same is likely to be the case with the new chairman selection committee and the coach who will be given added authority to run the affairs smoothly.
The PCB has also decided to sign a written contract with these three top officials of the team. But despite the assurances, the board has failed in convincing Younis for the job, perhaps because he has experienced some rough treatment at the hands of his seniors in recent past. It was in October last year when Younis refused to lead the side as makeshift skipper in the ICC Champions Trophy in India, creating a huge crisis. While many put his refusal to a serious argument with then PCB chief Shaharyar Khan, it was actually the attitude of some seniors on the first day of the training camp which prompted him to lodge a complaint with the PCB boss.
The critics feel that Younis’ reservations are not without reason since the PCB has often committed blunders in the past by mishandling things at crucial junctures. There have been several instances where captains and chief selectors have been named without taking into consideration their reservations and terms. Such a scenario has invariably resulted in a fiasco and has played havoc with Pakistan cricket in the past so many years.
Meanwhile, Salahuddin ‘Sallu’ has emerged as top candidate for the post of chief selector while ex-captain Intikhab Alam has been tipped as the new coach. Pakistan don’t have any international assignment before September’s Twenty20 World Cup.
