'Younis Khan has wrongly been made Pakistan batting coach', says Shoaib Akhtar
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has come out against Younis Khan's appointment as the batting coach of the Pakistan Cricket team.
Speaking of the appointment, Shoaib Akhtar asserted that the legendary Pakistan batsman would have been better off had he been appointed to work at the National Cricket Academy and added that Mohammad Yousuf should have been given the coaching role in the national team:
“Younis Khan has wrongly been made batting coach, he should be training players in the National Academy with Mohammad Yousuf as the Pakistan batting coach.”
This is Younis Khan's first major role with the Pakistan Cricket Board after drawing the curtains on his international career in 2017. Earlier, the PCB had planned to rope him in to either work at the development level at the NCA or to coach the Under-19 set-up. However, none of these went as planned and they subsequently never materialised.
I will work for PCB for free if given the chance: Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar further expressed his desire of working for the PCB, stating that he would try to bring in foreign investment and would offer his services for free:
“PCB is mismanaged. The more you keep good people away, the further cricket will go downhill. If I got a chance to work in PCB, I’d bring in foreign investment. I would work for free and ensure that no one calls me up and tells me to select their kid.”
Younis Khan is now accompanying the Pakistan Cricket team in England as they gear up for the Test series that is scheduled to commence on August 5.
We will have to wait and see how he fares with the coaching boots on but his batting credibility and the feats that he has accomplished in a career that spanned 17 years cannot be denied.
In the 118 Tests that he featured in, Younis Khan scored 10,099 runs at a stellar average of over 52. He also struck Test centuries in 11 different countries and is the only batsman in history to do so.