Karachi, Oct 7: Pakistan skipper Younus Khan said he would not tolerate the slur of match-fixing levelled against him and his teammates and would resign from the captain’s job if he felt so.
Younus was stunned by allegations levelled by Chairman of the National Assembly standing committee on sports MNA Jamshed Dasti that Pakistan tanked matches against Australia and New Zealand, a statement which the parliamentarian later back-tracked from.
“It came as a shock to me that such allegations have been made without any evidence or concrete proof to back them up,” a hurt Younus said, adding he would speak to Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaj Butt about the issue and would have no problem quitting the captain’s job if he felt so.
“I have struggled all my life, so I am not bothered about losing the captaincy or not being able to play for the team. I am always prepared to face any situation,” he said.
Insisting that there was no lack of commitment on the players’ part, he said, “I don’t know how anyone can make such baseless allegations without realising how much it affects the players and their fans. The team did its best in the tournament and there is no question of deliberately losing any match. The players gave 100 percent in every match.”
And even though Dasti claimed that the Younus, coach Intikhab Alam and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaj Butt would be summoned before the assembly committee to explain the debacle, a defiant Younus also said he had not decided as yet whether he would go to attend the hearing.
“So far I have received no summons or invitation and at the moment I have not made up my mind whether to go and attend such a hearing,” he said.
The Pakistan skipper, however, conceded that dropping New Zealand’s in-form batsman Grant Elliot at a crucial stage hurt Pakistan’s chance in the semifinal and he was not at his best because of a fractured finger.
“I played with a fractured finger and maybe that affected my performance,” he said on his own dismal batting form in the tournament that saw him score just 53 in four matches.
Younus said he had offered not to play because of his injury but the tour selection committee insisted he must play.
Responding to the statement of former captain Shoaib Malik that the team management should not have shuffled the batting order too much in the tournament, Younus said every player was now required to play at any position in modern day cricket.
Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam also agreed and said that Malik should not be complaining as anyone who wanted to play for Pakistan would have to bat according to team requirements.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 7 Oct 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 7 Oct 2009 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 8 Oct 2009 00:00:00 IST