Ex-captain Younis Khan wants to play at the World Cup next year and thinks he deserves a recall to Pakistan’s limited-overs squad after playing more than a decade of international cricket.
The 36-year-old Khan has been overlooked by selectors for the one-day format since March 2013, missing 32 matches including two ODI series against South Africa, the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup. Khan said he wanted to make up his own mind about retiring from the game, and not have the decision forced upon him. ”It’s all about time and hunger for the game,” he said Tuesday. ”Whatever cricket I play in the next two years I want to play good and will walk away myself instead of being axed.”
Khan remains among the fittest of players in the national training camps and is still a regular member of the test team. He quit T20s in 2009 after leading Pakistan to victory in the World Twenty20 in England. Khan said he has not set any dates for retirement from one-day or test cricket, ”but I will surely like to get an opportunity to play in World Cup”. Khan has scored 7,014 runs in 253 ODIs at an average of 31.88, a haul that includes six centuries and 48 half centuries. The Pakistan Cricket Board has established a training camp in Lahore, where central contracts for the players will be determined.
Younis Khan said the PCB management and the support staff took senior players in confidence before planning a month-long camp and wanted them to motivate youngsters. The next series is against Sri Lanka in August. ”It’s after 6-7 years that such a camp has been established because normally we don’t have such a long break from international cricket,” Khan said. ‘Such camps do tell you where your fitness stands and as a team we now know what improvement needs to be done.” -dawn
