Is PCB really victimising Younus Khan?

LAHORE – A lot is being said about the alleged unfair treatment being extended to former Pakistan captain Younus Khan but given his performance in the last 12 months , he does not deserve place in the team.
An objective analysis of Younus’ career as well as tantrums indicate he has had a turbulent twists throughout and of late his performance has touched new lows. That makes his exclusion more a case of merit than the alleged victimisation.

For Younus, February of 2009 will always remain an unforgettable time in his career. This was the time when he became the third Pakistani to hit a triple century. Younus achieved the feat against Sri Lanka at Karachi during the first test of the series after he had taken over the captaincy from Shoaib Malik. However, without taking any credit from Younus, he was not the only player who got amongst the runs in that match. In fact Sri Lankan batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Samaraweera both slammed double hundreds as Sri Lanka scored 644. Pakistan replied with 765. Over 1500 runs were scored in the match so one don’t need to be a genius to realise that the wicket was a batsmen’s paradise.
Prior to the Test Series against the Sri Lankans, Younus played in three ODIs against the Lankans scoring only 28 runs in three innings. Then as Pakistan took on Australia in the UAE, Younus managed just 74 runs in five matches on pitches that he should have thrived on.
The next event for Pakistan was the unforgettable 2009 ICC World T20 World in England and won by Pakistan. Younus somewhat improved his performance in this tournament registering the 50 and 46 not out in the early group games. Ironically Pakistan lost both the games that Younus scored in.
A cursory look at Younus’ record in ODIs in the last 12 months make for some interesting reading. During Pakistan’s tour to Sri Lanka, Younus was once again out of touch.