ABU DHABI: Pakistan's star batsman Younis Khan on Wednesday announced retirement from one-day cricket, making the today's first one-day international against England as his last international outing in a limited-over match.
“Today I am retiring from ODI cricket after deliberation with my family, wife, and close friends,” Younis said in a statement. He made the announcement hours before the start of the England-Pakistan encounter at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Younis, a record breaker for Pakistan in Tests, was a surprise inclusion in the ODI squad. The 37-year-old batsman was discarded from the one-day team after a poor tour of New Zealand and 2015 World Cup in April, where he managed just 77 runs in six matches.
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But chief selector Haroon Rasheed argued that Pakistan would need his batting experience against England. “Obviously his current Test form is good and we need a senior batsman to stabilise our middle order batting,” he said.
Pakistan's ODI captain Azhar Ali had earlier told media that despite Younis's poor form in the one-dayers, he hoped the senior batsman would come good. “Younis is a legend so we hope that he contributes and helps us win,” he said.
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Younis has had a see-saw one-day career, having scored only two hundreds in the last seven years, a record that has lead head coach Waqar Younis and support staff to reportedly resisted selecting him.
Today's game will be Younis's 265th ODI, nearly 16 years after making his debut against Sri Lanka in Karachi in February 2000. Going into his last match, Younis has scored 7,240 runs with seven hundreds and 48 half-centuries in one dayers.
