I can't teach teammates how to field: Younis

Karachi:

Pakistan's beleaguered captain Younis Khan has lashed out at the sloppy fielding by his teammates and asked them to lift their standards ahead of the crucial match against the Netherlands in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

"I cannot take a stick and start caning them if they misfield. It does not work that way in international cricket. Each player must realise his own individual responsibility in the team," Younis said on his 'captain's corner' show on Geo TV after Sunday's defeat against England.

Pakistan dropped at least four chances and misfielded several times as they collapsed under the pressure of their first match in the Twenty20 World Cup.

Former Test players and critics have said that Younis needed to be more strict and aggressive on the field with his players to stop the declining fielding standards of the team.

But Younis disagreed, insisting he could not teach the players, at this level, how to field.

"Look, if I start scolding or shouting at new players like Saeed Ajmal or Ahmed Shahzad every time they misfield then they will lose confidence even as bowler and batsman," the Pakistan skipper said.

He said that Pakistan had fielded below-par against England and in fact their fielding had been average even against other teams in recent matches.

"Fielding is something you work hard on as individuals to improve. It depends purely on a player how much interest he has in fielding and how much time he gives on practicing this art," Younis said.

"They are professionals and they must know their responsibilities. We must lift our fielding standards because in Twenty20 cricket fielding lapses cost you the game," he added.

Younis also defended his decision to field first against England, saying that the weather and forecast of rain had influenced his decision on winning the toss.

"We felt that England was playing under pressure and if we got couple of early wickets and restricted them to a low total, it would become easier for us when we batted because of the rain forecast and the duckworth lewis method would have come into play. When it is raining it is difficult to chase down a total," he said.

Younis said Pakistan played below-par against England and lost but it was still not out of the competition and had the ability to beat Netherlands.

"But like I said, we need to really lift our fielding standards. There is a need to have a proper bowler-fielder partnership on the field like other teams have. That is our weak area," he said.