Tag: Younis Khan

Pakistan Champions’ captain Younis Khan dedicated the victory over India Champions in the World Championship of Legends to the national team’s fans, who were left heartbroken in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Pakistan men’s cricket team, in a first, were knocked out from the group stage of the T20 World Cup, majorly because of their upset defeat against the USA, followed by a gut-wrenching defeat against arch-rivals India.

The back-to-back defeats had put Pakistan on the verge of an early exit from the tournament while the abandonment of the crucial group-stage fixture between USA and Ireland officially marked the end of their campaign in T20 World Cup 2024.

Pakistan team is facing massive criticism from fans and former players alike over their disastrous performance in the mega-event.

However, Pakistan Champions’ performance in the ongoing tournament has somewhat helped in healing the fans’ wounds.

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Younis Khan, during the post-match post-match press conference, shared that his side wanted to defeat India to give the fans something to celebrate.

“The way Pakistan lost and got knocked out of the 2024 T20 World Cup was very disappointing. We wanted to defeat India and give our fans something to smile about,” said Pakistan’s 2009 T20 World Cup-winning captain.

He also dismissed the notion that the retired players playing in Pakistan Champions are fitter than the current national team.

“It’s not like that. Our current national team is very fit. When a team doesn’t win, such things are said. We are winning, which is why people are speaking positively about us,” he added.

Younis Khan-led Pakistan Champions defeated India Champions by 68 runs, courtesy of Sharjeel Khan and Kamran Akmal’s quickfire half-centuries on Saturday.

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Following Pakistan’s debacle T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has suggested Fakhar Zaman as a new candidate to fill in the shoes of Babar Azam.

Pakistan, in a first, were knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the group stage after a crucial Group A fixture between the co-host United States of America (USA) and Ireland was abandoned here without a ball bowled.

The Green Shirts had a disastrous start to their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign as they suffered a shock loss against the USA in the Super Over.

Pakistan then succumbed to a frustrating six-run defeat against arch-rivals India at a jam-packed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 9.

The back-to-back defeats put Pakistan on the verge of an early exit from the tournament.

The former champions then finally got on the winning track when they registered a hard-fought seven-wicket victory over Canada.

Pakistan then edged past Ireland in another stiff challenge to bow out of the T20 World Cup 2024 with a win.

The 2009 champions finished third in Group A standings with four points in four matches.

Questions have been asked about continuing with Babar Azam as the T201 captain after Pakistan’s embarrassing ouster.

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Speaking on national television, Younis Khan wondered why attacking stroke-maker Fakhar Zaman couldn’t be the next T201 captain in place of Babar Azam while praising the former for turning around Pakistan’s 2023 ODI World Cup campaign.

“Why can’t Fakhar Zaman be the captain of the side isn’t he a performer? Didn’t he do well in the last 50-over World Cup? Who is that one player who gave us hope? Zaman started the 2023 World Cup in India poorly however, in the second half turned his form around which coincided with Pakistan’s success”, he said.

The T20 World Cup winning caption further said: “His [Fakhar] blistering starts at the top kept Pakistan in contention however, it was too little too late for them to go further in the tournament.”

He added: “Who is that one player in the side who is leaving his opening slot and batting down at four or five or six? Who is sacrificing his place? Fakhar Zaman! Why won’t you make him the captain?”

Fakhar has never captained Pakistan in his seven-year international career. He endured a dismal 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, scoring only 33 runs at an average of 8.25 and a strike rate of 110 in four games.

READ: New Zealand’s Lockie Ferguson sets multiple T20I records

Legendary Pakistan batter and T20 World Cup-winning captain Younis Khan has offered valuable advice to the national team’s top-order batters, including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman, ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.

While talking to the media in Karachi, Khan stressed the value of scoring quick runs in the middle overs, maintaining a healthy run rate of 8-9 runs per over after the powerplay.

“If a team scores 200 runs, they will be in a position to save the match, a score of 170 is not sufficient anymore,” he said.

He advised the Pakistan team’s top-order batters to focus on accelerating their scoring rate after the powerplay to help reach the par score of 200.

“Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Rizwan will have to go to the next gear. Nowadays, more runs can be scored at a rapid pace, it is the responsibility of the players to play aggressively,” he added.

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He also acknowledged the ever-evolving landscape of T20 cricket, where every batter and bowler should be ready to perform in any situation or position.

“The captain will have to think out of the box, and players will also have to come out of their comfort zones together.

“Every player should assist the captain; do not leave everything on one person because a plan cannot be made on just one person,” he added.

Notably, the Pakistan team is currently on the tour of Ireland, where they will play the first T20I at Clontarf in Dublin today. The next two matches are scheduled on 12 and 14 May at the same venue.

The three-match away series, followed by four T20Is in England, will serve as a stepping stone for the Green Shirts to boast their preparations for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).

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KARACHI: Pakistan’s ICC T20 World Cup 2009 winning team will celebrate the monumental victory in the United States of America (USA).

World Cup-winning captain Younis Khan, alongside Shahid Afridi, Misbah Ul Haq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal attended the star-studded ceremony here on Monday.

In a media briefing, it was revealed that the former cricketers will celebrate the title victory in different states of the US.

The celebration tour will commence on April 28 amid which the former cricketers will partake in the meet and greet sessions and will also be featuring in an exhibition match.

According to the event organizer, the purpose of the celebration tour is to promote cricket among the Pakistanis living in the US.

Speaking on the occasion, World Cup-winning captain Younis Khan stated that he wished that the national team had won more titles during this period.

“I wish we had won more cups during that time. I believe we should have had more titles,” said Khan.

“For the first time, the 2009 victory will be celebrated in America. We want to celebrate this historic victory again,” he added.

Pakistan’s hero of the semi-final and final Shahid Afridi revealed that he had high hopes for Babar Azam’s men but the national side failed to live up to that despite the conditions being in their favour.

“I had high hopes for this team. We had the players and the conditions were in our favour as well. We did not perform as per our skills,” said Afridi.

Afridi further commented on the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of Babar Azam as Pakistan captain and threw his weight behind the latter to continue to lead the side on Australia tour.

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik also commented on the national team’s dismal campaign at the ICC World Cup 2023.

The all-rounder further stated that he does not hold any grudge towards Babar Azam and termed him a brilliant batter.

“People think that I am against Babar Azam. There is nothing like that. He is a wonderful player. He is criticised due to his captaincy. I also believe that he can do wonders as a player,” Malik stated.

Meanwhile, another former cricketer from Pakistan’s 2009 T20 World Cup-winning squad Umar Gul, who is rumoured to be the top contender to replace Morne Morkel as Pakistan bowling coach, shared that he heard the news on social media.

“I saw on social media that maybe I am being considered for bowling coach but I have not been contacted yet,” shared Gul.

The former pacer, however, stated that he is willing to serve Pakistan Cricket again if gets the opportunity.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan were crowned the T20 champions under Younis Khan’s leadership when the national team outclassed Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the 2009 T20 World Cup final.

READ: Pakistan to play four-day match against PM’s XI ahead of Australia Tests

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan shared a piece of advice on the ongoing deadlock regarding the venue of Asia Cup 2023, stating that dialogue is the only way forward.

The former Pakistan captain joined the ongoing debate regarding the venue of this year’s Asia Cup and the deadlock between two arch-rivals Pakistan and India.

He while highlighting the importance of the rivalry in cricket also shared a piece of advice regarding the tie on the Asia Cup venue and shared that the officials should sit and talk to resolve this issue.

“Everyone [officials] should sit and talk regarding Asia Cup. If there’s no dialogue then the matter will not be resolved,” said Younis Khan during the MoU signing ceremony here for the Karachi Premier League.

Younis Khan further weighed in his opinion by asserting that Pakistan-India matches are beneficial for all and without them, there would be no entertainment in cricket.

“If there are no India-Pakistan matches, then there is no fun in cricket. If Pakistan plays India, everyone will benefit,” Younis Khan stated.

This year’s Asia Cup is originally scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan. However, the BCCI refused to send their team to Pakistan for the continental event on political grounds.

The BCCI since then made several efforts to take the hosting rights from Pakistan and to hold Asia Cup at a neutral venue.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was determined not to give away the hosting rights of the tournament and thus the chairman of the PCB management committee Najam Sethi came up with a hybrid model.

As per the PCB-proposed model, Pakistan will host the four to six group matches which will feature Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan.

However, the BCCI has refused the hybrid proposal for both events and once again demanded to shift the Asia Cup entirely from Pakistan.

Following BCCI’s reported refusal, the final decision regarding the venue of the Asia Cup was likely to be taken on the sidelines of the Indian Premier League (IPL) final. However, no development was reported on the deadlock.

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KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan opined regarding India’s refusal to tour Pakistan for next year’s Asia Cup and advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take a strong stance on this matter.

During Tuesday’s episode of Har Lamha Purjosh – ARY News’ famous cricketing show, host Waseem Badami asked former cricketers Younis and Kamran Akmal to comment on the statement of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, who is also the president of Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

In response, both former cricketers unanimously suggested that the PCB should take a strong stance on this matter and should stick to hosting the tournament regardless of India’s participation.

“I think Jay Shah should not have said that but since the bullet has been fired I would ask the PCB to take a firm stance on this issue, just like we did in the past [after New Zealand called off Pakistan’s tour at the eleventh hour] and as you know those teams have begun to tour the country,” said Younis.

“But if they [BCCI] decide to stick with their decision then it should not matter to us if the Indian team does not participate in Asia Cup and we should consider not travelling to India for the ODI World Cup the following year, nor we should agree to host Asia Cup at a neutral venue,” he maintained.

Kamran, on the other hand, echoed Younis’ comments and demanded a boycott of all matches against India, including their eagerly anticipated ICC T20 World Cup 2022 matches, which is set to take place on Sunday (October 23).

“I believe Jay Shah’s statement was unexpected, and since he attended the Pakistan-India game during this year’s Asia Cup, he should reserve politics for his opposition and avoid dragging it into sports,” Kamran said.

“Asia Cup should only be hosted in Pakistan and if that does not happen then Pakistan should not play against India at any level, be it ICC events’ matches, Asia Cup matches, or even their match on October 23,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention that following the 91st BCCI Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, Shah, in his statement, announced that the Indian cricket team will not travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023, while also hinting to host the continental event at a neutral venue.

READ: PCB writes to ACC after India refuses to tour Pakistan for Asia Cup 

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the induction of the national team’s first Test captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar and the country’s most successful Test batter and 2009 T20 World Cup-winning captain Younis Khan into the Hall of Fame on Sunday.

The two legendary figures of Pakistan cricket joined Abdul Qadir, Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas in the elite list.

According to PCB, Kardar (posthumously) and Younis were inducted following a transparent voting process, which was participated by Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis (all former Pakistan men’s captains and PCB Hall of Famers), Sana Mir, Urooj Mumtaz (both former Pakistan women’s captains), Aaliya Rasheed, Dr Nauman Niaz, Rasheed Shakoor, Qamar Ahmed and Waheed Khan (all respected print and broadcast journalists).

On the 70th anniversary of our inaugural Test, we are delighted to announce the induction of 🇵🇰 first captain AH Kardar and country’s most successful Test batter & #T20WorldCup winning captain Younis Khan in the #PCBHallofFame.

More details: https://t.co/cMhZS80JmS pic.twitter.com/G5HcyBE5Ik

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 16, 2022

Chairman Ramiz Raja said that the PCB Hall of Fame was designed to acknowledge, recognise and cherish the sacrifices, contributions and achievements of the role models in our sport.

“It is befitting that in our diamond jubilee celebrations, we induct two stalwarts from two completely different generations and eras of our proud cricket history,” he said.

“AH Kardar gave us a cricket dream, vision and mission in our formation years, and Younis Khan was one of the players who gave his absolute best in fulfilling those expectations through exemplary hard work, deep commitment and untiring performances against all opposition and across all formats,” he added.

Rejoicing the proud moment for the Kardar family,  Shahid Kardar, son of late AH Kardar said: “This is a richly deserved tribute to a natural Skipper whose inspirational leadership, imprint of character, tactical brilliance and sheer grit put Pakistan on the world cricket map by evolving a bunch of club level cricketers into a team that achieved laurels beyond its perceived potential. He lit the flame that set the country ablaze, converting just another pastime sport into a rage.”

“The Kardar family is profoundly touched and gratified at the recognition of the contributions of their patriarch with his inclusion in the Hall of Fame by the Pakistan Cricket Board.”

Younis Khan was honoured immediately after becoming eligible as the PCB Hall of Fame regulations demand a player to have played his last international match at least five years prior. Younis’ last international match was in Dominica in May 2017 – the Test which Pakistan won with six balls remaining to clinch their maiden series win in the Caribbean.

“I feel honoured and humbled to have been inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame by the Pakistan Cricket Board. There are many notable names amongst the list inducted prior to me, whose performances have been outstanding. I, thus, feel it a matter of immense pride and honour for my name to be amongst those legends, having given my all to make my country proud,” said Younis.

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KABUL: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has appointed former Pakistan captain Younis Khan as the batting coach for the team’s upcoming tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Younis, who has served as the batting coach of the Pakistan national men’s team, is now set to take the same coaching role for the Afghan national team.

The former Pakistan batting coach will travel to the UAE with the Afghan team for their upcoming tour to the gulf country.

Reports suggest that the ACB has appointed Younis for a three-week stint for the UAE tour but the contract can be extended depending on his impact on the side.

🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

Younis Khan and Umar Gul Named as our National Team’s Coaching Consultants for the UAE Tour

Read More ▶️ https://t.co/TeaDjRWtoe#AfghanAtalan pic.twitter.com/imvXMmcejA

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) April 2, 2022

 

Furthermore, the ACB had already appointed former Pakistan pacer Umar Gul as the bowling coach for the same tour.

READ: Afghanistan Cricket Board appoints Umar Gul as bowling coach