Pakistan lack quality Test players: Yousuf

Published Tue, May 18 10 01:38 PM

Karachi, May 18 (PTI) At present there is dearth of quality Test players in Pakistan and in such circumstances it is unfortunate to see the board''s extra emphasis on Twenty20 cricket, former captain Mohammad Yousuf said. "Pakistan presently does not have any worthy Test player. Our team is only good for T20 cricket and the board has also been laying lot of importance only on T20 cricket which is unfortunate," Yousuf said appearing in front of the inquiry committee looking into Pakistan''s disastrous tour of Australia earlier this year. The right-handed batsman warned the committee members that if remedial steps are not taken immediately then Pakistan''s Test future will be in serious jeopardy. He pointed out that many of the present players are also interested only in playing limited overs cricket and not Tests. Incidentally, the former skipper was the only player to question the Pakistan Cricket Board''s decision to set up an inquiry committee after the tour of Australia. The video recordings of his hearing show on plenty of occasions Yousuf exchanged words with the committee members, forcing PCB legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi to ask him not to dictate terms. "I am not dictating to anyone. What I am saying is for the betterment of Pakistan cricket," Yousuf responded. From the outset of the hearing, Yousuf expressed his said serious objections over the setting up of the inquiry committee. "In last three years we have lost to South Africa, India, Sri Lanka. Why was an inquiry committee not set up then why only now?" he questioned. "If you understand cricket then you will know this was not our best team on the New Zealand and Australia tours," he said. Yousuf, who was sacked as captain and banned for an indefinite period on the recommendations of the inquiry committee after the twin tours of New Zealand and Australia, has announced his retirement from international cricket. He accepted that he made some mistakes as captain during the tour but said he cannot do anything if fielders drop catches constantly. "I can also suggest to the board to bring about sanity and order in the team. Name the captain for atleast a year or two not on series-to-series basis. If you have a long-term captain then the players know they have to go by what he says," Yousuf said.

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