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Wearing an innocent expression on his face, Mohammad Yousuf on Monday denied ever telling national selectors that he was fully fit for an induction in the Pakistan Test squad.

Yousuf, who ditched the Pakistan team just hours before the start of the opening Test against South Africa, told reporters after the opening day’s play of the Test here at the National Stadium that he pulled out of the game because of lack of “match fitness”.

“I have not played any cricket for the last two months or so,” he said. “I realised that I’m not fully match fit which is why I decided not to take part in this Test.”

Yousuf’s last-minute withdrawal from the playing line-up ignited speculations that the player was forced to stay away from the match after receiving threats from the Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Yousuf, 33, signed a lucrative contract with the ICL earlier this summer but was recently lured into inking a central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) by the Board’s chairman Nasim Ashraf. Yousuf says that he has cancelled the ICL contract but the league organisers continue to insist that he will still play in their event which is bankrolled by India’s largest media group.

The star batsman was included in the 15-man Test squad just two days back and according to chief selectors Salahuddin Ahmed the player was picked because he assured the national selection committee about his fitness.

However, Yousuf said that he never had any such conversation with the selectors.

“I didn’t talk to the selectors on this topic,” said Yousuf when asked whether he informed the selection committee about his fitness.

Yousuf had been completely out of touch since leaving a national training camp in Karachi in August after it became clear that he would be dropped from Pakistan’s World Twenty20 team. While his team was preparing for the 12-nation spectacle and later featured in the final of the event, Yousuf kept himself busy on a tableeghi visit in a remote area of the country.

After selecting Yousuf in the Test squad, Salahuddin had told this correspondent that the batting maestro was picked in the squad after he told the selectors that he has been keeping himself fit by running during the last couple of months.

When asked whether Yousuf will be able to find his rhythm after having spent the last two months out of competitive cricket, Salahuddin had said that Yousuf is a great player and should not find it hard to find the sort of batting form that helped him amass a record 1788 Test runs in 2006.

But after Yousuf denied ever ‘talking to the selectors on this subject’ it has become apparent that either he or the chief selector is not speaking the truth on this issue.

Even if Yousuf is right in claiming that he never assured the selectors about his fitness, the player has certainly damaged the team’s cause by pulling out just before the start of the match. And the fact that he did it after bagging a hefty 12 millions rupees from the PCB as a reward for signing the central contract and for receiving the ICC Test player of the year award, did raise a lot of eyebrows.

Yousuf, however, insisted he did nothing wrong and promised to make his return to the team by playing in the second and last Test getting underway in Lahore from October 8.

He also denied that his decision to sit out of the Karachi had anything to do with the ICL issue. When pressed by the reporters, Yousuf said that they should ask the PCB about the issue. “The PCB officials have told me they will help me deal with the ICL so it is better if you talk to them.”

Source:Cricket News