I did not follow the Champions Trophy well enough to know this then. This happened before the semi final I suppose. Pakistan’s new and highly effervescent skipper Younis Khan seems to have taken his job as captaincy really seriously.
In fact, he has taken it so seriously that nothing else matters to him. Not even the fact that the team needs 11 fit players to compete in a World Stage tournament, let alone win it.
He hurt his finger someday doing I don’t care what and even missed a game. Then, on the day before the game against India, his conscience would not let him rest.
He decided to throw caution to the wind, and play the game for his country. Would have been brave under normal circumstances (Anil Kumble comes to mind), but this was not normal circumstances.
Had Kumble got that blow on the head before the test match, nobody would have played him.
Younis went all out in the game, and did practically nothing apart from addressing the post game conferences. But his team won, and he could be proud of himself.
In the Australia game, he scored a 49 ball 18. In the semi final, he dropped a sitter, trying to be an Aussie for a catch which was down under.
If all this wasn’t enough disgrace, he appeared to be all jovial after the tournament, saying stuff like the players love playing under him. Of course, if captaincy is the only thing you are capable of doing.
In the end, what really got me on the floor was his statement. I was not laughing at the English, I was laughing at the comment itself. Here it is:
“I’m only player unfit, but playing!”
Note it down folks. This is going to be a part of a book for sure.
Suffocating. Nonsense. Cricket.
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