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Younus Khan quits T20 international
Younus Khan announced his retirement from T20 internationals after leading his side to victory in the 2009 Twenty20 final against Sri Lanka at Lord's.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: June 22, 2009 09:41 AM IST
Read Time: 2 min
London:
Younus had the world on his feet at Lord's on Sunday after his beleaguered side became only the second Pakistan team to win a world cup title. Yet he spurned the riches which awaited him with a simple 'no thank you, I am retiring from Twenty20 cricket' statement at the end of the press conference.
The cash-awash Indian Premier League (IPL) nor any number of Twenty20 jamborees which are springing up across the globe are not for him.
The greed-laden examples of Andrew Symonds and Chris Gayle, who want their talents to be exclusively paraded in Twenty20 cricket, is also not his cup of tea. Nor is he keen to hide injuries and somehow hang on to his spot in the national squad.
Not for him to look to be a brand ambassador of a product. Nor is there any urge to take stakes in a franchisee's company. His idea of celebration too did not extend beyond uttering a thanksgiving prayer to the prophet.
Younus is just happy being the Second Khan after his role model Imran Khan to have won a world title for his country. Like it did with him in 1992, he is hopeful this triumph would launch a thousand new careers.
He also kept his word in dedicating the title triumph to his deceased coach Bob Woolmer. Not for a moment did he worry that it could cause political consternation back home.
Woolmer, despite his excellent credentials and sincerity, was a foreigner and a white man to boot.
It didn't bother Younus a bit that it could actually make a few fundamentalist forces in his society very, very angry.
He just wanted to place his gratitude to his former coach on record.
It also was kind of purging of all those 'whispers' which had gained ground in the rather mysterious death of the South Africa-born coach during the 2007 World Cup.
Younus does not mind if the former chief selector Abdul Qadir would have the 'I-told-you-so' look now that he has kind of confirmed his uneasiness with this format of the game.
He also must have disappointed hordes of those cash-rich business houses and entities who were getting readied to thrust their blank cheque books on his face. Cry for soul makes more sense to him than lust for green bucks.
In Younus Khan, the sub-continent, indeed the world cricket, now has a philosopher-king who in times to come would be known as a better custodian of the game than all those administrators who do no better than kneel in front of the highest bidder.
Unimaginable riches and rewards are the tokens of success in cricket in the sub-continent. But Pakistan's skipper Younus Khan has just turned his back on them.Younus had the world on his feet at Lord's on Sunday after his beleaguered side became only the second Pakistan team to win a world cup title. Yet he spurned the riches which awaited him with a simple 'no thank you, I am retiring from Twenty20 cricket' statement at the end of the press conference.
The cash-awash Indian Premier League (IPL) nor any number of Twenty20 jamborees which are springing up across the globe are not for him.
The greed-laden examples of Andrew Symonds and Chris Gayle, who want their talents to be exclusively paraded in Twenty20 cricket, is also not his cup of tea. Nor is he keen to hide injuries and somehow hang on to his spot in the national squad.
Not for him to look to be a brand ambassador of a product. Nor is there any urge to take stakes in a franchisee's company. His idea of celebration too did not extend beyond uttering a thanksgiving prayer to the prophet.
Younus is just happy being the Second Khan after his role model Imran Khan to have won a world title for his country. Like it did with him in 1992, he is hopeful this triumph would launch a thousand new careers.
He also kept his word in dedicating the title triumph to his deceased coach Bob Woolmer. Not for a moment did he worry that it could cause political consternation back home.
Woolmer, despite his excellent credentials and sincerity, was a foreigner and a white man to boot.
It didn't bother Younus a bit that it could actually make a few fundamentalist forces in his society very, very angry.
He just wanted to place his gratitude to his former coach on record.
It also was kind of purging of all those 'whispers' which had gained ground in the rather mysterious death of the South Africa-born coach during the 2007 World Cup.
Younus does not mind if the former chief selector Abdul Qadir would have the 'I-told-you-so' look now that he has kind of confirmed his uneasiness with this format of the game.
He also must have disappointed hordes of those cash-rich business houses and entities who were getting readied to thrust their blank cheque books on his face. Cry for soul makes more sense to him than lust for green bucks.
In Younus Khan, the sub-continent, indeed the world cricket, now has a philosopher-king who in times to come would be known as a better custodian of the game than all those administrators who do no better than kneel in front of the highest bidder.
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