I always run from captaincy: Younis

In the morning training session, Shoaib Akhtar had made a vain attempt to give an impression that all was well within the Pakistan camp. As the teams trooped out and moved towards the army of photographers standing near the fence, Akhtar lifted skipper Younis and gave him a piggy-back ride for a few steps. The man with a knack for news was giving a perfect opportunity to get a frame that could go with the caption: The storm has subsided and an upbeat Pakistan team is raring to go for the third Test.

Not many were impressed by this staged show of camaraderie. But it was the sight of an unruffled Younis, who did say that he has always been a reluctant skipper, but also gave the impression that he has moved on, that did.

“I try to run away from captaincy, but it keeps following me. Even if you see in the past I have been trying to run away from the captaincy because captaining teams like India or Pakistan means that your life is destroyed. So I always try to smile and be relaxed, because my performance is affected whenever I am the captain. The more I run away from the captaincy, the more it keeps coming back and I have no choice but to take it,” he said.

Younis was also of the view that captains shouldn’t be blamed for everything that went wrong on the field. “Every player has to do his job. A captain can just set a field, but he can’t bowl. He can decide the line-up but not bat,” he said.

That’s when he was asked if he was so averse to captaincy why did he agree to become deputy, since that would often put him in the hot seat. The answer, though contradictory, revolved around his commitment to his team. “I was not the vice-captain before this tour, but for this tour I was requested to be vice-captain because it was such an important tour. I always like to take on challenges so that is why I accepted it,” he said.

But Younis raised a few pertinent questions that somehow explained the reasons that were responsible for Thursday night captaincy crisis. It was easy to make out that it was the limited say of a captain in matters as crucial as the team selection that was a point of debate in Pakistan camp. “A captain must get to select the team that he wants. This is something wrong in India-Pakistan cricket,” he said.

It is being said that Younis was against Akhtar playing the Kolkata Test, but things didn’t go the way he wanted.

An interesting off-shoot of the temporary captaincy crisis was Akhtar’s eagerness to be the captain. It is learnt that the pace spearhead had called reporters to say that if given a chance he was keen to lead the side. But right now it is clear that he can just be the trump card, not the king.