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Younis Khan could face disciplinary charges after he refused to captain the national side during the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy tournament in India, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday.

Younis, the team’s middle-order batsman, made his decision public without consulting the Board and this has angered officials. “His (Younis’s) decision to renounce the captaincy was a breach of discipline,” Abbas Zaidi, the PCB Director Board operations, said. “He has since expressed his regrets to the chairman but the matter will be dealt with under board regulations governing disciplinary matters after the tournament.”

The PCB was forced to announce senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf as captain for the tournament with all-rounder Abdul Razzaq as his deputy.

In a news conference on Thursday, Younis said: “I don’t want to be a dummy captain and the reason why I have refused the captaincy will be revealed afterwards.”

He gave no further details and walked out. “Younis, during his meetings with the Board, was asked about his remarks about being a ‘dummy captain’ and he regretted the sentence,” Zaidi said. “He said he should not be considered (as captain) but was willing to continue playing as a team member.”

Younis was named captain after regular skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq was given a four-match One-day International (ODI) ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last week for bringing the game into disrepute during the fourth and final Test against England at The Oval in August.

He has led Pakistan before in the absence of Inzamam in Tests and One-day Internationals with considerable success.

But the PCB has appointed Inzamam as captain for the home series against the West Indies starting from November 7.

Meanwhile, the PCB Director Cricket Operations Saleem Altaf said that Younis’s refusal to lead the side had come as a shock. “We don’t think this is the way to do things. If he had any problems he should have discussed it with us first,” Altaf said.

In the mean time, Pakistan team’s coach Bob Woolmer said he was disappointed that Younis had decided to not take the captaincy for personal reasons. “I am very sad because he is a wonderful player. I think in due course of time he will himself say what those personal reasons are. But we have to put this incident behind us and get on with the job of doing well in the tournament,” he said.

The Champions Trophy opens in Mohali on Saturday with a preliminary round match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The final takes place in Mumbai on November 5.
Source:The News