Veteran Pakistan batsman Younis Khan is open to the idea of extending his international career, but only if the Pakistan board and team needs him to do so.
“Yeah, I will think about it,” Younis told cricket.com.au before the first Test. “It all depends on if my team needs me. If they request me or people want me then why not? But it all depends on my team.”
In a column for cricket.com.au ahead of the first Test, Misbah also made public his feeling that the team still needed Younis and that he could continue playing for a year or two.
“I talked to him about it in Australia and told him that ‘You can play on’,” Misbah wrote. “Even though we have some very good youngsters in the team, the gap left by Younis’ absence will be difficult to fill.
“The Pakistan team will not just miss him as a batsman, they’ll also miss him as a mentor. He has been a terrific role model for everyone and it will be very tough to replace him. Every member of this team, including myself, has learnt a lot from him. He has changed our dressing room culture. If one wants to be successful in professional life, one only needs to regard Younis Khan’s organised and punctual lifestyle from breakfast to bed.”
Younis had said his future plans would depend on what the team needed from him. In April, while announcing his intention to retire, Younis said: “No player always remains fit, the motivation never remains the same, so this is the time when Younis should leave the field after the upcoming series in West Indies.”
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