CRICKET
teams and the departments were taking note. Both HBL
and NBP offered him to join them and at my suggestion
he signed up for HBL because I felt Kabir Khan there
would help him grow as a player.Younis scored another
double hundred the same season and went on to score
over 1200 runs at a prolific rate. He was soon to be part
of the Pakistan team and, although sent lower down, he
scored 46 against Sri Lanka in a One-day International
and then a fabulous century on Test debut against the
same team at Rawalpindi a few days later.In no time,
he rose to vice captain’s post and would often lead the
side to picking up some quick wickets when Inzamam
was off the field. He was named captain when Inzamam
was unavailable and his greatest success was to lead
Pakistan to victory in the 2009 World Twenty20.That victory came against all odds when Pakistan was nowhere
among the favourites. To give him credit, Younis got the
best out of the players besides ending up as one of the
most successful batsmen in the tournament. And it was
under him that Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Amir were
introduced.It is ironic, though, that despite the massive
achievement, the PCB allowed the players to carry out
a mutiny against him because he was very strict on
physical fitness and training. Senior and emerging players, some five or six of them, got together and quietly
made sure Younis did not meet with much success in
the matches that followed.They deliberately performed
below their best when he dropped any of them for faring poorly. Younis soon resigned from the job out of pro-
test, saying that the whole rigmarole is hurting the team
and he has no qualms about playing just as a player to
ensure Pakistan won.It was because of this spirit with
which he always plays the game that his omission hurt
him so much. But his return with such a grand onslaught
and high scores against Australia and New Zealand last
year came as no surprise to me.In fact, I was only expecting it. This was the quintessential tough guy in Younis who had risen to the occasion yet again. He may be
less talented than some other top class players to have
represented the game, but is far ahead when it comes
to being a mentally strong and disciplined player who
believes in working hard.In his now 15-year career for
Pakistan, Younis has experienced many ups and downs,
and on personal front as well. He lost his two brothers
to heart attacks, one in Germany and one in Ukraine,
and was left stunned when his sister died in Mardan. His
father also died around the same time. Mid last year he
lost his nephew while he was in Sri Lanka which forced
him to quit the tour and make an early return home.I
doubt if anyone, struck by so many tragic deaths in the
family within a span of six years, can carry on with both
life and cricket with such a big heart.He has, indeed, battled his way through the odds to his hundredth Test. It is
a big honour for any cricketer but none more deserving
than Younis Khan who has probably worked the hardest
to reach this milestone.The writer is a former Pakistan
captain and wicket-keeper
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