Rough and tough welcome for Younis

“He has brought disgrace to the country and he should stop playing cricket for Pakistan,” said Mohammed Ahsan, who was also at the airport.

Pakistan’s Cricket Board was cagey Tuesday about when the rest of the squad would return after their humiliating loss to minnows Ireland in the West Indies, which was followed a day later by the murder of coach Bob Woolmer at a hotel in Jamaica.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s cricketers will not have to worry about their safety when they return home, team spokesman Pervez Mir said Tuesday. The team was flying back to Pakistan on Tuesday after staying at a hotel near Heathrow Airport for two days.

“People are disappointed and there are always certain people who are a bit over the top, but I’m sure the PCB have made all the necessary arrangements for the players and there is no reason for concern” Mir said as the team prepared to board its flight.

Khan was the second Pakistani player to return home.

Earlier Monday, star batsman Mohammad Yousuf also landed at Karachi airport but managed to evade waiting journalists, according to local media. Khan had less luck.

Just one airport security official accompanied him from the arrival lounge, and people gathered around the Pakistan vice-captain the moment they saw him heading toward his car. Khan responded angrily to the slogans against him.

“Who will make me sit on the donkey?” he asked before being hustled into the waiting vehicle by some relatives. “Such things do happen in cricket, so why are you all so angry?” said one of the relatives, who did not give his name. The car then sped off.

Cricket is a passion among Pakistan’s 160 million people, and the loss to Ireland sparked anger among fans eager for a repeat of the country’s 1992 World Cup triumph. Some burned effigies of skipper Inzamam-ul Haq.

On Monday, the government urged the international media to go easy on the team, saying it was shocked by the killing of Woolmer, a former England Test player who had coached the talented but unpredictable side for nearly three years.

“Our players are already traumatised and they have lost somebody who was very close to them, who was very dear to them,” said Tasnim Aslam, spokeswoman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry. Police have identified no suspects in Woolmer’s death.