Contrasting views from Butt and Afridi about Younis Khan

So while the decision of Younis Khan to step down as the captain of the Pakistani side and take a break from the international cricket for some time gets debated in the international circles, the PCB chief, Ejaz Butt has already come out with a statement saying that Younis Khan will continue to remain the captain on his return from the break, if he remains fit and has the form.

Younis Khan had been appointed as the captain of the side till the 2011 World Cup, before he lost the series to New Zealand and promptly resigned from the post citing differences with his team. However, Butt said that the PCB had a long term plan in place and the same will be reviewed in a few days time.

Butt also refuted claims that there was something not too right within the team. He said that every time Pakistan lost a game or a series, such allegations had been laid in the past as well. He had been responding to queries whether the resignation from Younis Khan had anything to do with the rift between the players. Younis Khan had alleged that he had resigned because he could not get the team together and hence needed a break. Pakistan had played some real rash shots to get out in the final game against New Zealand which led to speculations that they had done so to undermine the captaincy of Younis Khan.

In the meantime, Shahid Afridi, who is the captain of the side in the T20I format, and who is tipped to take over from Younis Khan in the ODIs as well, has said that Younis should not have taken a break from his batting. According to Afridi, Younis Khan should have toured

as his batting was a necessity.

Afridi said, "He was having problems but I don't think he should have taken the decision to skip the tour. He should have played on because the captain is the central figure in a team."

Amidst all the problems related to the captain and team selections, the Pakistanis registered a win over New Zealand in the first T20I under the captaincy of Afridi. The second game will be played in Dubai on Friday. New Zealand have their own set of problems as they have lost most of their cricketers on tour and are left with only 11 fit players to take field for the game on Friday!