http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Younis-Khan-c98325’s future in limited-overs cricket - Opinion
Younis Khan, the right-handed top-order batsman, has been a great servant of Pakistan cricket over the years. Since making his debut in 2000, the 34-year-old has held http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Yousuf-c77465.
When it comes to Test cricket, Younis is one of the modern-day greats, with 6398 runs at an average of 52.44, including 20 hundreds and 25 half-centuries. The same however, cannot be said about his credentials in the shorter formats of the game.
In recent times, there has been immense criticism on the national selection committee for persisting with the veteran in the 50-overs format as the right-hander scored his last ODI century almost four years ago.
There is a strong school of thought, according to which Younis should now focus only on the longer version of the sport and it is about time for him to hang up his boots for limited-over internationals.
In 244 ODIs, the cricketer from Mardan is averaging only 32.33 runs per innings and has only six hundreds under his name. These statistics do not reflect the class of the former Pakistan captain.
In the last three years, Younis has been averaging even less than 30 runs per innings and has not looked the same player as he has been in the five-day format.
With Pakistan looking to build a team for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754, authorities need to make strong decisions and should allow some of the younger players to develop their game and establish themselves
at the ultimate level of the sport.
Karachi’s middle-order batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Asad-Shafiq-c46208 has been in the national squad for almost two years now but he is not getting enough opportunities to prove his worth. Similarly, there are some other young cricketers who have been doing well in the domestic cricket
and if they are given consistent chances, they can deliver the goods for Pakistan at the world-stage.
Pakistan former top-order batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Syed-Zaheer-Abbas-Kirmani-c92392, who was one of the best in the business during his playing days, has come out in support of the seasoned batsman and has backed his selection in the ODI squad.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abbas-c41488, who is also known as the ‘Asian Bradman’ is of the opinion that there are not enough quality young batsmen in the country and this is the reason why, he thinks that the selectors should avail his services for some more years to come.
"Lean patches come in every player's career. He is a senior player and the team needs him. You just have to see his consistency in the past. And it's not like our youngsters are outstanding so there's no point in getting rid of him," Zaheer said.
In the on-going ODI series in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, Younis has struggled once again to come up with a big innings, even though his team desperately needed him to come up with a good knock while chasing a big total in the second match at Pallekele.
If the veteran batsman was performing consistently, then Zaheer’s argument would have been justified, but the issue is that Younis has never been an outstanding player in the limited-overs format.
It is in the best interest of the Green Shirts to either go in with a new batsman at the all-important number three slot, or to bring back the experienced http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Malik-c90088, who showed good form in the T20 series against the Islanders.
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