Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Younis Khan deserved the ‘right to go out on his own terms’ but called the timing of the veteran Pakistani batsman's retirement ‘odd.’
Younis, picked for his first ODIs since the 2015 World Cup in March, was determined to quit on his own terms and announced his retirement just before the first-match of the four-match ODI series against England in Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday.
He scored 9 to finish with 7,249 runs from 265 matches since 2000.
The shock exit ‘disappointed’ Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan but Hussain said Younis deserved an international farewell.
“It's an odd way to go about [retiring] but in Pakistan, the culture is that the players are icons and deities and he has sailed off into the sunset with a win,” Hussain told Sky Sports.
“As a legend and mighty fine player, he deserves the right to go out on his terms and it shows what has motivated him over the years.”
“He was really cross about being left out of the one-day side after the World Cup but he is a fighter and came out with the 'I'll show you' attitude, something that has made him the cricketer he is.”
Hussain, who was instrumental in turning England into a more aggressive outfit as a captain, also called upon Pakistan to finally start looking towards the future.
“It is important with Younis going and Misbah-ul-Haq having retired from ODIs that Pakistan look to their future.
“For too long they have relied on the same sort of guys so they need to produce young batsmen now and keep them in the side, such as Shehzad, who I was amazed didn't play.”
“The way Babar, who also gave Pakistan energy in the field, played must give them a lot of hope for the future.”
Pakistan's inexperienced batting line did not come good on Friday as England beat them by 95 runs in the second ODI to level the four-match series 1-1.
The two teams head to Sharjah for the third ODI.
