Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in Test and former captain Younis Khan is most likely facing a ban of three to five matches for withdrawing his name from the Pakistan Cup national One-Day tournament after being dissatisfied with the umpiring standards in the domestic competition. It seems Pakistan cricket has a tendency to find itself in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Younis was not at all happy with the umpires over some decision and when match referee, Aziz ur Rehman called him for a disciplinary hearing, the veteran Pak cricketer didn’t care to show up. For this, he was slapped with a fine of a maximum of 100 percent of his match fees.
The incidents involving Younis, the Khyber Pakhtunkhawa skipper and the umpires and match referee actually happened over the space of two matches in the tournament being organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board in Faisalabad.
The 38-year-old was reportedly not at all happy with umpire Shozab Raza as he turned down an LBW appeal against Islamabad captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who then scored a crucial 82 in their two-wicket victory against Khyber Pakhtunkwa. This led to Younis questioning the umpire, which later prompted his dramatic departure from the tournament.
The veteran even received full support from batting legend Mohammad Yousuf, who agreed the umpiring had been poor.
“The PCB Chairman, Shaharyar Khan has taken serious notice of the incidents involving Younis and has summoned a report from the match referee,” a source close to PCB told PTI.
He revealed the Chairman even wanted to speak to Younis but his phones were switched off after he returned from Faisalabad to Karachi on Saturday night.
The Pakistan Cup national One-Day tournament is believed to be a platform for selecting the national team for the tour to England this summer.
“The Chairman is unhappy the most at the fact that Younis quit the tournament since he is also an advisor to the Chairman on cricket affairs like Misbah-ul-Haq,” the source said.
“Shaharyar Khan is unlikely to let the matter go as he feels that no matter who the player or how senior he might be, no one can be allowed to challenge the authority of the umpires, referee or board in such a blatant manner,” he further said.
The source suggested that if the Chairman finally makes his mind to penalise Younis, the senior batsman could face a ban of three to five matches.
Opener Ahmed Shehzad, who played for Pakistan in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup, has been named the captain in Younis’s absence.
Interestingly it is not the first time that Younis has dragged himself into problems with the authorities and he even had some serious issues with his teammates from United Bank in the last domestic season when he left them in a lurch in the final stages of the premier first class competition after a sudden disagreement with the coach.