Defiant Younis lauds Flower, Luden
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DUBAI: Younis Khan, who capped a memorable Test against Australia with hundreds in both innings, refused to give credit to the board or the selectors after playing a pivotal role in Pakistan’s victory on Sunday.
The former captain, who will turn 37 next month, had criticised the selectors and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after being dropped for the ODI series against Australia.
And on Sunday he only thanked Zimbabwean Grant Flower, the team’s batting coach, and trainer Grant Luden for his stellar performance.Younis, who became Pakistan’s leading Test century maker with 26 hundreds, last month slammed the selectors and board for not showing senior players enough respect.
He had also offered to step down from the Test side but the PCB avoided taking any disciplinary action against him despite confirming that Younis had violated code of conduct for players.
Younis avoided mentioning the names of team manager Moin Khan, also the chief selector, and head coach Waqar Younis or the PCB at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Host Ramiz Raja, a former Pakistan captain, urged him to give credit to the board for selecting him but Younis was in no mood to be generous.
“I give lot of credit to Grant Luden and Grant Flower who worked hard with me before this Test to get me ready for the match psychologically and mentally,” Younis said.
“Grant Flower spent a lot of time with me in the nets and mentally he prepared me for a bruising time against a top class Australian attack.
“Even though I was hit a couple of times on the body I was expecting this and managed to stay firm.”
Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2014
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Comments (28) Closed
Oct 27, 2014 09:43am
This was a great win by the Pakistani team. Thanks Younis for making Pakistan proud.
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Oct 27, 2014 09:48am
True comments by him. well appreciated.
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Oct 27, 2014 09:54am
This is a glaring example of why we are not succeeding as a nation, it is indeed a pity that we don't value our heroes as much we should. Great going Younus, you have been a gladiator for so long and I fail to see any other player match your work ethics and commitment for the team.
May God be with you!
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Oct 27, 2014 10:25am
Why should Yunus be thankful to PCB. A star player dropped in ODIs.Instead loosers like Imran Farhat, Omar Amin, Hafeez and Shoaib Malik were part of probables in ODIs. Yunus was demoted to category B !! In the past friends of Rameez Raja; Akmal brother, Shoaib malik etc plotted against him. They took oath on Quran that they would not play under Yunus. Yunus the same guy who won the world cup T 20 few months ago was dislodged !!
Rameez wants Yunus to praise the PCB ? Is Rameez worried that his group from Lahore might have to loose the captaincy. We know Rameez is a good commentator but we also know how when he served under Tauqir Zia alongwith Amir Suhail, regionalism and nepotism flourished. We dont forget how Amir Suhail and Rameez Raja would praise the game of Tauqir Zia's son ashamedly, on national TV.
Shamefully and crudely he was criticising Sarfaraz when he missed a stumping chance against Smith on the 5th day. Even Dean Jones and Adam Gilchrist were talking in a civilized manner on the poor performance of Australians. We know Rammez has only 3 centuries in test cricket !! We know how the Atchison College connection kept him in the team. Yunus a guy from Malir, Karachi is more honourable then many PCB big heads and so called expert commentators
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Oct 27, 2014 10:35am
Senior players must be respected. PCB must use scientific metrics to grade/rate players based on data including players contribution to the team's recovery from disastrous situations such as the one in UAE against Aus (2 down for less than 10 runs). YK has Pak record of 26 centuries in about 92 tests and the PCB idiots think he is not good enough for ODIs. Is Moin Khan comparable to the record braeking YK? Waqar should use his head better. Pak zindabad.
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Oct 27, 2014 11:03am
Well done Younis say as it is without any pretense..
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Oct 27, 2014 11:19am
Now Pakistani players will never stop talking about the philosophy of winning matches....
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Oct 27, 2014 11:25am
His performance on and off the field, reflects his greatness.
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Oct 27, 2014 11:30am
Younis Khan did the right thing and didn't appraise anyone at PCB. He has been treated wrong by PCB at various occasions. He deserves to take part in upcoming mega event 2015 ODI World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
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Oct 27, 2014 11:40am
Younus is my hero. And he did mention Misbah in one of his statements. Younus and Misbah are two pillars of our test team, the most consistent, reliable and most importantly, both of them upright and honest. Hats off !!!
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Oct 27, 2014 12:10pm
He is a gentleman and sportsman, always giving his best for the country. Board should be answerable for their ludicrous decisions. But, then this is Pakistan (no accountability)
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Oct 27, 2014 12:34pm
Younis ROCKS!!!
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Oct 27, 2014 12:39pm
Younas khan and Yasir Shah must be included in the one day squads.
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Oct 27, 2014 01:31pm
Sir,
Surely Yuns Khan is the gentlemen of cricket and a great player.
If merit and honesty prevailed in the Pakistan cricket board then our cricket would have been in much better shape then it is today!!!
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Oct 27, 2014 01:32pm
Younis has NO reason to say anything positive about PCB. What a hero to take a stand.
And speaking of RAja, his criticism of sarfraz when he missed stumping is deplorable. It just highlights the "agenda" that raja has.
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Oct 27, 2014 01:34pm
Younis is a prime example who says it like it is and hence is not the most popular man in this setup.
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Oct 27, 2014 01:52pm
Now keep it up yuonus.you have scored 2 centuries and this should not be the end of your contributions in this series.play as hard as possible and score more runs to silence your critics.remember NZ are next and are an equally tough team
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Oct 27, 2014 01:57pm
Younis showed appreciation to the two Grants (Luden and Flower) who, by thinking out of the box, used creative means of helping Younis combat not only the menace of Australian bowling, but also to strengthen his mental resolve as Australians are masters at physical and psychological destruction of key opposition players. Younis did so well in his interactions with the Australians that they simply melted on the field, and Warner and company were seen joking and smiling with Younis when the latter was batting in the second innings. Johnson inquired about Hafeez's ankle as he lay on the pitch - Aussies normally are not that way on the playing field. Clarke paid Younis the highest compliments, not just for his batting but for his class as a gentleman. We Pakistanis are lucky to have Younis in our midst - and let us keep him forever involved, as an active player, as a top PCB administrator, as the Mayor of Karachi, and wherever Younis would like to reach to!!!
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Oct 27, 2014 03:52pm
@syed Well said. Pakistan have no shortages of talents, but they have the men like Rameez Raza and gong who always tried to malign the inherent beauties of those talents by inviting and establishing nepotism, favoritism and regionalism.
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Oct 27, 2014 04:36pm
@syed .well written.Ramiz is not famous for his performance on the field but is well known on TV.he was in the team as you mentioned correctly plus the influence of his brother late wasim.His failure as as batsman were well covered because of the strong middle order and best bowler of the era.
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Oct 27, 2014 05:56pm
@syed I absolutely agree with Syed, In fact I have been noticing biased commentary from Ramiz for quite some time, Ramiz is hurting Pakistan’s cause a great deal sitting in commentary box. Please where are chusti Mujadi and Iftakahr Arif, we need commentator like in past.
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Oct 27, 2014 07:10pm
I request YK to concentrate on his betting improvement., show consistent performance in the future series., be on nets on a daily basis. Hire a local trainer on a domestic level & practice day & nights. We should practice & perform and STOP BLAME game. However could not perform in International level, he must play in domestic level., that should be the criteria in the selection of a player for the international level.
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Oct 27, 2014 07:14pm
I think it was unprofessional of Ramiz Raja to put Younis on the spot right after the victory. Ramiz is mature enough to know that it was not the right time and place to pose the question that he asked. To give credit to Younis he responded in a very mature manner and avoided any negative comments about PCB.
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Oct 27, 2014 07:21pm
@syed well said
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Oct 27, 2014 08:28pm
@syed Very well said. There are very few loyal and devoted players in Pak cricket. We should be thankful to Allah that one of them is Yonius Khan. With all that at 37 he is super fit. Similarly another devoted player is Sarfraz.
After a long time this is a high time for Pakistan cricket, as both new and old faces are performing together. If correctly built on this we are legit Worldcup contender!!!
Batsmen that cannot be ignored for ODI: Shahzad, Azhar, Yonius, Misbah, Sarfraz, Fawad and Sohaib
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Oct 27, 2014 09:00pm
@ahmed I chuckled when I read your comment; only for your innocent mistake. Iftikhar "Arif" was a different person. He was one of the "Kasottee" duo. The commentator was Iftikhar "Ahmed". But thank you for taking us back to those 3 old names.
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Oct 28, 2014 09:42am
Hafeez should not be selected in the 2nd test., let's give chance to youngsters, only one change and the rest should be the same as 1st test.
Thank you!!!
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Oct 28, 2014 10:06pm
Why should he praise the people including team manager Moin Khan and the chief selector, and head coach Waqar Younis who kicked him out of the one day squad! After the second test match against Australia whatever runs he scores I think will be the right time for YK to retire. Not many players in Pakistan see the writing on the wall and get to go on a high.
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