LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has expressed his desire to play in every format of the game, saying he would like to feature in the next year’s World Cup.

Talking to reporters at the end of ongoing training camp’s morning session on Tuesday, the former captain, under whose captaincy Pakistan won the World Twenty20 in England five years ago, said: “I want to play in every format of the game and don’t like to be tagged as just a Test cricketer. I also want to be recalled for the 2015 World Cup.”

The selectors dropped Younis, who averages over 51.38 in Tests with 23 centuries, from the T20 squad in December 2010 before axing him from ODIs in March 2013, confining his role to only Test cricket.

He has performed well in the traditional format during the last year, scoring 650 runs in seven Tests at an average of 59.09 with three centuries including one double ton against Zimbabwe and a century each against South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Younis’ performance in Test cricket speaks volumes and the decision to confine him to the traditional format may be right while on the other hand the veteran player’s desire to be called to the ODI squad may be a challenging one.

“My desire is to retire from international cricket on my own terms as I certainly don’t want to be axed at a stage when I have played for Pakistan for almost one and a half decades,” commented the 36-year-old veteran batsman whose 253 ODIs have yielded 7,014 runs.

Bowling coach Mohammad Akram who is supervising the training camp has also claimed that both Younis and captain Misbah-ul-Haq have proved themselves as the fittest players among 40 probables at the camp. Considering Younis’ fitness, it could be expected that the middle-order batsman could once again catch the selectors’ eye for ODI squad.

“I always tried my best to perform in every format instead of making long-term plans,” said the veteran.

It is also instructive to note that Younis’ last performances in ODIs were not impressive as he was only able to amass 190 runs in eight ODIs at an average of 23.75, forcing selectors to axe him from the squad before the last Champions Trophy.

Younis further said that he was fit and might play for long, adding that he still had hunger for cricket.

Praising the ongoing conditioning camp, the former captain said it was the best opportunity for all to regain fitness, especially at a time when there was no international cricket around.

Meanwhile, former Test fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz, who is now on the PCB payroll, also joined the camp to impart tips to bowlers.

Sarfraz said Akram had invited him to the camp, adding he would do his best to help players improve their bowling skills. To a question, he said he hoped recent visit of the prime minister to India would be helpful in reviving India-Pakistan cricket.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2014