Monday, June 22, 2009

Why Younis Khan's Retirement is Perfectly Timed

Younis Khan had announced before the World Twenty20 that he would retire from T20 cricket after the tournament.

I thought that he would not have retired considering his performance in the World T20, but he stuck to his plans.

Younis was never considered a 20-20 batsman. He had a lot of critics who felt he was not suited to this format.

Pakistan's chief selector had even announced publicly that he would not have had Younis in Pakistan's T20 team if he had had his way.

Younis dished all that criticism out the window by scoring 172 runs at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 140 in the World T20.

He was Pakistan's leading run scorer, before Afridi and Akmal over took him in the final, and he ended the competition among the top 10 leading run scorers.

Despite this performance, I believe that Younis Khan's retirement from 20-20 cricket could not have come at a better time for Pakistan.

The fact that he led Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title and then announced his retirement just makes it all the more sweeter for him!

But that's not the reason why Younis has timed it perfectly.

I have called for Shahid Afridi to captain Pakistan for a long time now. Younis has now paved the way for Afridi to take over the top job in one format of the game; one that Afridi has made his own.

What that will do is also groom Afridi to take over the captaincy in ODIs and Tests once Younis Khan hangs up his boots.

Yes I said tests as well, and I will explain why in another post soon.

Shahid Afridi has got to be the leading candidate to take over the captaincy of Pakistan's T20 team, and if the PCB are not thinking along the same lines, then someone needs to punch some serious sense into them, and quickly!

Make your pitch on this post...



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14 Pitched:

  1. Stani Army said...
     

    I think a lot of captains from the other sides will follow suit. In fact, many of them are probably saying to themselves, "I should have done that".

    The likes of Ponting etc. I hope this doesn't diminish the seriousness of the tournament though.

  2. LiB said...
     

    going off topic, but why are all the players not on the plane to lahore?? afridi, razzaq, gul, younas will be arriving late! why!?!?

    news is lahoris are going to give the team a memorable welcome when thay land at 3:00 in the morning but it would be incomplete without the above mentioned players!

  3. Mizzy Dee said...
     

    Q,

    Do we or PCB have an option aside from Afridi for T20?

  4. namya said...
     

    Do I sense an Imran here in terms of retirement?

  5. Q said...
     

    Stani,

    Ponting should have definitely done it..

    I don't think it diminishes the seriousness.. it just shows that you need different types of players for 20-20, even though Younis had adjusted very well to it.

  6. Q said...
     

    LIB,

    I believe it is due to security concerns.. the official parade and all will take place once everyone arrives.. but tonight the Lahoris will surely be going crazy again!

  7. Q said...
     

    Mizzy Dee,

    I don't think so but Misbah's and Akmal's names are being thrown around.

  8. Q said...
     

    Namya,

    Maybe but not entirely.. Younis did say before the tournament, that he will be retiring from 20-20 after the World T20.. and he lived up to his word.

  9. Rayden said...
     

    Well I have made a lot of fun of your captain over the past few months but I would like to give him credit when its due. It did a super job in the T20 World Cup, the guys seemed to respond to him and now he has retired from T20 while on top. Everyone is talking about Shahid Afridi in the semis and finals but its Younis Khan who batted superbly to get Pakistan into the knockout stages. Well done Younis Khan. Very few people have the guys to retire while on top.

  10. Rayden said...
     

    ok my typing has gone crazy. I meant "very few people have the GUTS......." in the above post

  11. Stani Army said...
     

    Don't worry Rayden, we are understanding guts.

  12. Stani Army said...
     

    ....I mean guys....hehehe

  13. Q said...
     

    Rayden,

    You're not alone.. a lot of people have made fun of YK.. including me, us, and all Pak fans..

    Nothing like a true man getting back at his critics through sheer performance.

    YK has done the entire country proud!

  14. Q said...
     

    Yeah Stani, very understanding!

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