Mohammad Yousuf intent on staying on as captain
Mohammad Yousuf has insisted he will stay on as captain despite Pakistan’s staggeringly unsuccessful tour of Australia. The PCB chairman had earlier called for a change in captaincy following the conclusion of the tour, but Yousuf maintained the results in Australia didn’t warrant him stepping down from his post. Pakistan’s chief of selectors, Iqbal Qasim, offered his resignation in the immediate aftermath of Pakistan’s 5-0 loss in the ODIs, but Yousuf wasn’t willing to follow suit.
“If the chief selector has resigned it’s his thinking,” Yousuf told reporters on his return from Australia. “I didn’t do badly as captain, not as badly that I should resign or quit. I accepted captaincy when no one was willing to take captaincy for the tours. I took it [captaincy] only because of the country and will continue for the country in future.”
Yousuf took over the reins when Younis Khan quit citing dissent within the team and took a temporary break from international cricket. Since then, Pakistan drew a Test series in New Zealand 1-1, before the capitulation against Australia. They had fought hard in Melbourne and especially in Sydney, where they failed to chase 176, but ended up losing all three Tests.
“Under the circumstances we went there, I think we did well to draw the series in New Zealand. Our players were inexperienced but I think we did well in the Australia Tests,” Yousuf said
