‘You KHAN continue’
PCB chief rejects skipper’s resignation:
Pakistan cricket chief Ijaz Butt on Tuesday rejected captain Younus
Khan’s resignation, saying Younus’s reaction to match-fixing allegations
was natural and there was no reason to replace him.
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Younus Khan
Pakistan captain |
“We have not accepted Younus’s resignation and he will lead Pakistan
in the limited over series against New Zealand next month,” Pakistan
Cricket Board chairman Butt told reporters after a governors’ meeting.
Younus, 31, resigned as captain last week in protest after a lawmaker
levelled match-fixing allegations against the Pakistan team over its
defeats against Australia and New Zealand in the recent Champions
Trophy.
Younus tendered his resignation to Butt after appearing before a
meeting of a parliamentary committee during which the team was cleared
of match-fixing. Younus then met Butt in Lahore and offered to resume
the job, on condition that he was made captain until the 2011 World Cup.
Butt, however, refused to set any tenure for Younus.
“When I made him captain earlier this year I did not set any tenure,
so there will be no fixed tenure. As long as Younus is fit he will
remain our captain and I hope that he leads Pakistan until the 2011
World Cup,” said Butt.
Pakistan is due to play three one-day internationals and two Twenty20
internationals against New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates early
next month before touring New Zealand and Australia for Test series.
Butt praised Younus’s leadership qualities. “He is a good captain, he
led Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title,” said Butt of Pakistan’s
triumph in England in June. “Then Pakistan beat India and reached the
semi-final in the Champions Trophy, which was a big success. “His
reaction to match-fixing allegations was natural and had I been in his
place, my reaction would have been the same.
This was unacceptable, so we now want the team to get settled for the
next series under Younus.”
Pakistan skipper Younus Khan on Tuesday said he was ready to lead the
team again after the country’s cricket chief rejected his resignation,
saying he had been heartened by shows of support.
“I am very happy right now. The faith that the chairman and the board
has placed in me again, it’s good to know. The support that I have
received from the board and the country through this time has been
fantastic,” Younus told Cricinfo website.
LAHORE, Pakistan, Tuesday, AFP |
