BLOG: Younis's ODI cricketing harakiri

On the eve of the first One-Day between Pakistan and England, I heard the news of Younis's retirement from ODI cricket with as much amusement as watching a sitcom which had outlasted its utility.

We have all borne witness to the media hype and paranoiac frenzy with which Younis Khan had been pleading his case for inclusion in the ODI squad for the Pakistan vs England series so much so that it had actually become a moot point between the selection committee and the team management—a situation which reminded me of the age-old saying that "when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers".

I would leave it to your imagination for mapping the analogy in the above case, but I am not too sure who made the elephants fight? Is this the first time we have seen Younis behave in a whimsical manner? Certainly not!

If my memory serves me right, he has resigned from captaincy at least twice in the past over issues which could have been handled in a mature manner. It's hard to understand why an apparently meek and humble personality like Younis would falter on crucial occasions – more than once – when he should have seized the moment in time to match his on-ground cricketing feats with his off-the-field demeanor.

Maybe he is too gullible and gets easily influenced by those who claim to be his near-and-dear and often advise him sans sanity.

As an example, I am inclined to drift back into the past. On a glorious evening at Lords in 2009, Younis Khan lifted the T20 world cup and during the post-match ceremony was afforded with the opportunity of sharing his thoughts by Ex-England captain Nasser Hussain.

The stage was set, the audience was global, yet Younis, in a very comical way, attempted to share his thoughts which were hardly communicated but with an overdose of laughter with a repeated chorus of enjoying the game.

I thought the victory speech should have contained a reference to Pakistan's war on terror and human losses suffered as a result. In fact Nasser Hussain tried to give him a cue but sadly Younis missed the script all together.

Didn't the team management think about the victory speech and its contents or did they not even entertain the idea that we could win the final? I wouldn't know and would always be at a loss.

Once again, before embarking on the tour for the Test series against England, this unending debate started which saw Younis appearing in the media pleading his case for inclusion in the ODI squad.

We all know that Younis is too great a batsman who would have secured his place in ODI squad primarily through his performance alone but he kept on pursuing his case which at times became very demeaning and self-destructive to his stature both as a batsman and as a human being.

In the England Test series, Younis became the highest run-scorer in Pakistan's cricketing history – a feat which would seemingly be there for quite some time since nobody in the present lot comes even close to it.

Despite his superb performance, Younis's ODI stats did not merit his selection in the squad, yet the media hype and pressure became so intense that I suspect the selectors chose him under duress with too many overtures between the chief selector and the team management.

Just when it seemed that the dust was finally settling, Younis created another ripple by announcing his retirement on the eve of the first ODI against England, stating that it would be his last limited-overs match for Pakistan.

If Younis had to retire than he should have sorted it out with the selection committee who would have certainly agreed to a farewell send-off for an outstanding batsman.

So why was there so much fuss and commotion for being included in the ODI squad? Beats me!

My guess is that Younis somewhere, at some point, forgot the fact that "respect is always commanded not demanded". It's either that, or he needs to change his coterie of advisers, because, as long as they are tagging along, Younis definitely does not need any foes.

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