ABU DHABI: Younis Khan wants to become the first Pakistan player to score 10,000 Test runs after surpassing Javed Miandad’s 22-year record mark on the opening day of the first Test against England in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old has been a key part of Pakistan’s batting lineup for over a decade but, as with 41-year-old captain Misbah-ul-Haq, questions about how long he has left in the game are starting to surface.

However, the brutal way he dispatched Moeen Ali over midwicket for a huge six to beat Miandad’s 8,832-run milestone showed there was still life in the man.

“It’s a great honour to cross Miandad’s record, which I had never thought I would be able to do,” Younis told reporters after the first day’s play.

“It was like a wall for me,” said Younis of Miandad’s tally of runs.

“It was a good target for me when I was around 8,000 runs, to think if I push myself, I can reach Miandad and pass him.

“So that was my mission which kept me alive. At the moment, my wish is to become the first [from] Pakistan to reach 10,000 runs for his country.”

Younis, who was eventually out for 38 on Tuesday, claimed the record in his 102nd test match, 22 fewer than Miandad took to set the marker.

Asked why he did not celebrate the occasion on the pitch, Younis said he wanted to focus on his innings as Pakistan made 286-4 at close on the opening day.

“I thought the focus should be on my innings because the team needed runs from me so I put my concentration back after reaching the record,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2015

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