Younis Khan Turns Down Pakistan Captaincy

This news has been looming around for a while now. That Younis Khan has turned down the Pakistan captaincy was not something completely surprising or unexpected. His reservations on this matter had been circulating in the media in Pakistan ever since he returned from the Caribbean but I avoided writing about it before, in the hope that perhaps if I live in denial for long enough, some one might just be able to sway his decision.

But in an interview to the Urdu daily The Daily Express he has now confirmed that he was offered the job, but he declined it citing the post World Cup reaction "hurt" and "mental strain" as a reason. Younis was being 'groomed' so to speak as the vice captain for over two years now, but this still isn't a complete disaster for Pakistan. In fact far from it, it may actually be a good thing, since it now leaves us with no other alternative, but to explore and invest in someone young, fresh and energetic.

People like Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt, which are some of the names being taken now, could mark the beginning of a new era and a new style too in Pakistan Cricket, different from a past where 'seniority' alone could get you the captaincy by default. Which is precisely why names like Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf - some say even Abdul Razzaq may be in the mix - have not been ruled out. But the news still saddens me for one reason. And that is not because I think the alternate captain Pakistan will now chose in Younis' place might not be good enough, some one like Shoaib Malik, is arguably in his own self a very capable, insightful and bold personality, but because in the annals of Pakistan Cricket's history, this is another loss for the nation's cricket. Another "what could have been" story.

Younis was a dynamic leader. Yes, he was and perhaps still is a hasty decision maker, but whenever I saw him captain the side, he seemed like one of those players that not only read the game well, but also had a good gut feeling, and which he was, crucially, brave enough to follow. Innate leaders are a rare being, like eagles, they don't flock, you tend to find them one at a time. And who could do this better then Pakistan? As a country on a whole, inspiring leadership is a struggling phenomena here, people just don't have any confidence in those in power, let alone talking of being inspired by them. With power abuse and corruption such a norm in the society here, that is understandable, but another consequence of this is that many potential leaders are skeptical about bringing a change in these cultures by taking responsibility on themselves.

That's why Imran Khan's venture into politics is so inspiring to me personally, he dared to try and bring a change, and not that he's achieved much success in it so far, but he did dare, and he hasn't given up as yet, which alone is quite something. Back to cricket, I'm sad that when after so many years, in Younis Khan, when Pakistan Cricket finally found someone who proved himself capable of being able to inspire that kind of passion and confidence in his companions, we once again, through our own cynicism, over-reactions and loss of perspective, drove a potential leader away.

Younis has also hinted he may retire from one-day cricket as well and I'm sure this will surprise many people, and may even bring criticism from others, but somehow I don't find it that difficult to see where he is coming from, in that respect either. Desire is one of the biggest motivating factors for any professional in any working field, but especially in sports; if over a period of time, you are constantly paddled back and forth between a hero and zero, desire can lesson, or run out altogether. You get bad days in your work everywhere, but there are few careers in which a bad day will become a cause for you to increase security outside your house. It would be normal if you ask yourself after a while if it was all really worth it. So, I really do have sympathy with modern day cricketers in this respect.

Of course Younis will still be available as a test player, and who knows, he might still continue as a one-day player too, but just to reinforce my point about this being a loss for Pakistan's Cricket, Younis Khan's test average has risen from 39 to 48 since the 2004-05 season when he was first elevated to vice-captaincy following the tour to Australia that year (where he was incidentally the team's top run getter). Of course you can counter that by pointing out how his average in matches he has actually captained since then has been much less impressive, but its hard to not see, that his reluctance to take up the captaincy, is yet another story of yet another talented individual's talent not being fully utilised.

How many more Younis Khans will we sacrifice before we learn from our mistakes?