Reports: Younis Khan to retire from one-day internationals
Under-fire Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has reportedly decided to hang his boots from the One-Day Internationals format after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 comes to an end. Younis Khan took to social media to announce his retirement and mentioned that he will however, keep representing Pakistan in the Test matches. He tweeted,
I Will Retire From ODI Cricket After 2015 World Cup .Will Continue To Play Test Cricket #Cricket #CWC15
— Younis Khan Official (@TheYounusKhan) February 24, 2015
The veteran batsman is struggling for form in the World Cup and has managed to score only 6 runs (which came against India) in two matches. He was out for a golden duck against West Indies in Pakistan’s second Group B match as Pakistan lost both the games comprehensively.
Younis Khan has served the national team in 263 ODIs during his 15-year-long career, scoring 7203 runs at an average of 31.31. However, this move comes after a number of former Pakistani players called for his retirement following a string of poor scores in the ODI format.
"I beg of Younis. Thank you for your services to Pakistan cricket but please leave this ODI side now," former Test captain Rameez Raja said to a private channel today.
"I think Younis should tell the management he should be rested," Raja said.
Younis' former team mate Shoaib Akhtar has also joined the chorus demanding his retirement. He said to a local news channel,
"I request Younis Khan to now say goodbye to this team. He has given lot of service to Pakistan cricket but he should now go himself."
Senior cricketers like Shahid Afridi and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq have already announced their decision to retire from the ODIs after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Younis' retirement now could leave a gaping hole in the Pakistani batting unit.
Pakistan's next Group B fixture is against Zimbabwe at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday.
Edit: It has now come to light that the Twitter handle from which Younis supposedly announced his decision to retire is not actually his official Twitter handle, but a fake one. Younis has clarified that he doesn’t intend to retire at the moment.