Former Pakistan batter, Younis Khan believes that during his time as captain of the team in 2009, players were not honest with him. Shoaib Malik was replaced as the team’s captain by the right-handed batter. However, instead of having a smooth captaincy experience, Younis had to deal with anger issues from his own teammates, who didn’t seem to like his captaincy style. Younis Khan on 2009 players revolt.
Younis Khan on 2009 players revolt – Seniors were unhappy with my captaincy style and strong attitude
The former Pakistani cricketer had a successful career, scoring over 17000 runs across three formats, but he believes his leadership was taken away from him because of his attitude. He, on the other hand, disputed the suggestion that the players were having problems as a result of his leadership style or tough attitude.
After the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) relieved him of the captaincy, Younis excelled in red-ball cricket under Misbah-ul- Haq and for a few years in white-ball cricket under Shahid Afridi. “If the players had problems with me they could have spoken to me. They claimed that they didn’t want me removed as captain but just wanted the cricket board to speak to me to change my attitude,” Younis told in a recent chat with media.
‘To Me, It Was About Captaincy Ambitions’: Younis Khan
He also highlighted Shahid Afridi and how he wanted to be appointed captain instead by the PCB.“Then how is it that when the player (s) met with the then PCB Chairman, Ejaz Butt one senior player, apparently Afridi demanded the captain be changed. To me it was about captaincy ambitions,” said the highest Test run-getter for Pakistan.
Apart from the Afridi incident, Younis mentioned Umar Akmal, who contacted him to request the Holy Quran because some of the players wanted to repeat some Sarah’s before a significant match. In 2009, the right-handed hitter was relieved of his leadership owing to player dissatisfaction.
Younis then changed into a normal person and would just concentrate on his batting after being ignored by the PCB and dismissive conduct from players during his captaincy spell. In 2016, he retired from ODI cricket, and in 2017, he retired from Test cricket.
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