Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
"Sarfaraz Ahmed will provide Pakistan with a great number of Test victories as well" : Younis Khan
ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistan captain has said that team work and perfect management were behind Pakistan team’s Champions Trophy victory.
Talking to The Nation, Younus, who was winner of 2009 World T20 Cup, said: “After getting real bashing against India in the group match, nobody was giving any outside chance to green caps of even playing semi-finals or winning even a group match as they had to face the likes of South Africa and Sri Lanka in next two matches, but credit goes to Sarfraz and his players for showing the guts and desire to play out of their skins, which helped them beating highly professional sides.”
Younus said that Sarfraz led the side from the front and in the present circumstances when there was no senior player who could handle the pressure of Test match captaincy, as Azhar Ali was stripped off from captaincy in a hurry, otherwise, he could have been the best option. “I feel the time is ripe to hand over Sarfraz the Test captaincy as weel, but it is my humble request to chief selector and PCB to give ample time to Sarfraz to adjust and start to deliver. In the past, it was witnessed that a player being appointed skipper like Azhar Ali from nowhere, he was stripped off in the same way. These things are very bad for Pakistan cricket.
“Now in case, the PCB appoints Sarfraz to lead in all three formats, he must be given full power and time, as there may not be an imminent success or no matter what results may come, Sarfraz should be given confidence and all-out backing to settle down, and then everyone will see, same Sarfraz will provide Pakistan a great number of Test victories as weel,” he added.
Younus appreciated the batting sensation Fakhar Zaman and his formidable opening partnership with Azhar Ali, saying both completely overhauled opening department. “Fakhar proved his mettle throughout the Champions Trophy as he scored back-to-back centuries in semi-finals and then in the final and that too against India, which is a clear indication that after a long time, Pakistan team has finally got the best openers in shape of Fakhar and Azhar.
“The confidence of Azhar was sky high, which was missing since long. Pakistan team badly needed openers to fire with good starts, which both Azhar and Fakhar managed to provide. I don’t know why Fakhar was not picked in the first group match, but ever since he was given opportunity, the youngster grabbed it with both hands. Pakistan is quite fortunate having an explosive opener. It would have been ideal, had Sharjeel Khan was also available for selection that lethal opening combination would have torn apart any given attack,” he added.
The former Test batsman also lauded the pace battery of Pakistan team. “The duo of Junaid Khan and Muhamamd Aamir did a fantastic job in the final. Juniad was highly unfortunate as he was given step-motherly treatment in the past and that process continues unabated, even in the Champions Trophy, but as soon as he was recalled in the team, he completely changed the fortunes of green caps and he along with Aamir formed the same partnership, which Wasim and Waqar had formed in 1990s. Both rattled the opponents and Aamir took a lot of heart and freedom from Junaid’s inclusion, while Hassan Ali was arguably the find of the tournament and he had a long and bright future ahead.
“All the team members contributed collectively towards achieving the goal of winning the trophy for Pakistan, which is a wonderful Eid gift for the masses. Same happened to me, when I was leading the side in 2009, we lost warm up games, then against England in the pool stages, but once we started playing as a unit, we managed to win World T20 Cup,” he added.
About future of Pakistan Test team after Misbah and his retirement, Younus said: “I feel the PCB should put faith in youngsters and groom them under the senior players. Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam are playing awesome cricket and I feel they have ability to provide that cover in the middle order which, we use to provide to the team.”
http://nation.com.pk/sports/25-Jun-2017/sarfraz-should-be-given-test-captaincy-as-well-younus
ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistan captain has said that team work and perfect management were behind Pakistan team’s Champions Trophy victory.
Talking to The Nation, Younus, who was winner of 2009 World T20 Cup, said: “After getting real bashing against India in the group match, nobody was giving any outside chance to green caps of even playing semi-finals or winning even a group match as they had to face the likes of South Africa and Sri Lanka in next two matches, but credit goes to Sarfraz and his players for showing the guts and desire to play out of their skins, which helped them beating highly professional sides.”
Younus said that Sarfraz led the side from the front and in the present circumstances when there was no senior player who could handle the pressure of Test match captaincy, as Azhar Ali was stripped off from captaincy in a hurry, otherwise, he could have been the best option. “I feel the time is ripe to hand over Sarfraz the Test captaincy as weel, but it is my humble request to chief selector and PCB to give ample time to Sarfraz to adjust and start to deliver. In the past, it was witnessed that a player being appointed skipper like Azhar Ali from nowhere, he was stripped off in the same way. These things are very bad for Pakistan cricket.
“Now in case, the PCB appoints Sarfraz to lead in all three formats, he must be given full power and time, as there may not be an imminent success or no matter what results may come, Sarfraz should be given confidence and all-out backing to settle down, and then everyone will see, same Sarfraz will provide Pakistan a great number of Test victories as weel,” he added.
Younus appreciated the batting sensation Fakhar Zaman and his formidable opening partnership with Azhar Ali, saying both completely overhauled opening department. “Fakhar proved his mettle throughout the Champions Trophy as he scored back-to-back centuries in semi-finals and then in the final and that too against India, which is a clear indication that after a long time, Pakistan team has finally got the best openers in shape of Fakhar and Azhar.
“The confidence of Azhar was sky high, which was missing since long. Pakistan team badly needed openers to fire with good starts, which both Azhar and Fakhar managed to provide. I don’t know why Fakhar was not picked in the first group match, but ever since he was given opportunity, the youngster grabbed it with both hands. Pakistan is quite fortunate having an explosive opener. It would have been ideal, had Sharjeel Khan was also available for selection that lethal opening combination would have torn apart any given attack,” he added.
The former Test batsman also lauded the pace battery of Pakistan team. “The duo of Junaid Khan and Muhamamd Aamir did a fantastic job in the final. Juniad was highly unfortunate as he was given step-motherly treatment in the past and that process continues unabated, even in the Champions Trophy, but as soon as he was recalled in the team, he completely changed the fortunes of green caps and he along with Aamir formed the same partnership, which Wasim and Waqar had formed in 1990s. Both rattled the opponents and Aamir took a lot of heart and freedom from Junaid’s inclusion, while Hassan Ali was arguably the find of the tournament and he had a long and bright future ahead.
“All the team members contributed collectively towards achieving the goal of winning the trophy for Pakistan, which is a wonderful Eid gift for the masses. Same happened to me, when I was leading the side in 2009, we lost warm up games, then against England in the pool stages, but once we started playing as a unit, we managed to win World T20 Cup,” he added.
About future of Pakistan Test team after Misbah and his retirement, Younus said: “I feel the PCB should put faith in youngsters and groom them under the senior players. Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam are playing awesome cricket and I feel they have ability to provide that cover in the middle order which, we use to provide to the team.”
http://nation.com.pk/sports/25-Jun-2017/sarfraz-should-be-given-test-captaincy-as-well-younus
