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Veteran batsman Younis Khan said on Friday he had rejected an offer to become Pakistan captain, saying he was “very disappointed” with the furious public reaction to the team’s World Cup exit.

Younis was deputy for nearly two years to Inzamam-ul-Haq, who resigned after the shock first-round loss to minnows Ireland sent them tumbling out of the tournament.

“I make an effort to play for the glory of my country with total commitment. I am very disappointed the way we were greeted when we returned from the World Cup,” Younis said.

“It is not a pleasant thing if threatening calls are made to players’ homes, their effigies are burned, the players’ pictures are blackened and put on donkeys. How can I lead the team under these circumstances?” he asked.

Younis told Geo television that he had been offered the captaincy, but had turned it down for personal reasons. “I have declined the offer to captain the Pakistan team,” he told the private station in an interview aired on Friday.

“I have a family and I am recently married and I want to spend more and more time with them,” he explained. “I accept being a captain is a hard job in Pakistan. You are alone at the top and there is no one to support you if you fail. I can never enjoy being a captain,” he added.

He said he also wanted to step down as vice-captain, although he was still keen to play for his country. “It is not charming for me, I was looking for an opportunity where I could relieve myself of the responsibility as vice-captain also,” he said.

Younis denied his decision was linked to the poor World Cup showing, which was followed a day later by the mysterious murder of coach Bob Woolmer.

“Even if we had won the World Cup, I would still have refused captaincy and step down as vice-captain to give myself time to be with my family,” he said. Younis said there were four to five senior players in the team including fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, all-rounder Shahid Afridi, and batsmen Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik who could fill the top slot.

Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told on Wednesday that Younis declined the offer because the PCB wants to put in place a new code to check so-called “player-power.” But Younis denied his decision had anything to do with a power struggle within the Pakistan set-up.

The stylish batsman also hinted he could retire from One-day International (ODI) cricket in the months ahead. “As my average will reflect, I know I am a better Test batsman than a one-day player and may be in the next couple of months I only play Test cricket,” he said.

Younis has scored 4,291 runs in 53 Tests with a healthy average of 48.21. In 149 One-day Internationals (ODIs), he had scored 3,960 with an average of 31.42.

He was captain for the Champions Trophy in India in October when Inzamam was banned for the Oval Test ball-tampering controversy last year. But Younis initially refused the role at the time, saying he did not want to be a “dummy captain,” apparently over differences with some of the senior players and over some selections.
Source:The News