Yousuf calls Younus, asks him to join team

Pakistan skipper Mohammad Yousuf said that he called up senior batsman Younus Khan and asked him to join the team.

Yousuf has asked Younus to join the national team as soon as possible for the one-day series in Australia.

"Yes, I did call up Younus because we have always been good friends and we have played a lot of cricket together," Yousuf said on Wednesday.

"I would definitely like to see Younus back in the team as soon as possible because he is a very experienced batsman and the team is missing him," he added.

Yousuf replaced Younus as captain for the tour to New Zealand in November after the latter pulled out of the series pleading to the cricket board that he wanted to take a break from international cricket.

Younus who returned to competitive cricket this week by playing in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Karachi has said he is available to play for Pakistan whenever the players and selectors need him.

Yousuf also made it clear that it was never easy to replace someone of the calibre and experience of Younus.

"He has been to Australia before and scored runs there so I want to see him in the team," Yousuf added.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim made it clear that he didn't see chances of Younus going to Australia for the Test series.

"But he can definitely make the one-day squad. We have no doubt about his class and fitness but we need to give him some time to get over his poor form and start scoring runs again," Qasim added.

Younus failed in both innings of the Quaid Trophy final but picked up four wickets with his medium pace swing bowling.

After Younus returned home from Abu Dhabi without going to New Zealand there was plenty of speculation that he decided to sit out because of problems with some players in the team who were not happy with his captaincy.

But Yousuf who is also captain for the Test and one-day series in Australia made it clear that he had never had any communication problems with Younus.

"We always got along well together and that is why I called him up to inquire about his plans. I am happy that he was very positive about resuming playing international cricket again," Yousuf stated.

Sources in the cricket board said that the chief selector had conveyed to the board that the selection committee wanted to see Younus play one or two more domestic matches before sending him to Australia.

Younus will play for Habib Bank in the Pentangular Cup starting from January 1 in Karachi and Pakistan does not play its one-day series against Australia before end of January.

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Yousuf wants Misbah in New Zealand

Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan's stand-in captain for the tour of New Zealand, has called for Misbah-ul-Haq to step up and fill Younis Khan's absence. Younis has given up the captaincy of Pakistan once again, and taken a temporary break from the game altogether, and Yousuf has expressed his desire for solidity in the form of the axed Misbah.

"The team is fine but I have asked the board for Misbah-ul-Haq to fill the gap that has appeared in the middle order as Younis would not be playing in the series," he said. "He [Misbah] is a good batsman and I think he would prove helpful for the team."

Misbah, 35, was left out from the squads in all three formats for Pakistan's series of ODIs, T20Is and Tests against New Zealand in the Middle East and New Zealand. His form has been poor in all three formats over the last year, in contrast to 2007, when he reignited his dormant international career in sensational fashion at the World Twenty20 in South Africa and then on a tour to India.

However, barely a day after being axed, Misbah scored a career-best 284 for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the domestic four-day competition. He shared a Pakistan record of 479 with Usman Arshad, 41 short of the world record for the fifth wicket in first-class cricket.

"He has been playing well in domestic cricket and I hope he would also perform well in the series against New Zealand," said Yousuf.

After a lull in international assignments over the last two years, Pakistan suddenly find themselves in action until February next year. They have completed the limited-overs fixtures in the UAE, losing the three-game ODI series but winning the two Twenty20s. They now head off to New Zealand for a three-Test series. Following that, they move to Australia where they have another three-Test series and a series of five ODIs as well as a T20I.

Yousuf said he would aim to unite the players against the backdrop of talk of players being unhappy with Younis as captain for a while. "Team's performance depends on unity. I will try my best to bring together all the players and team management and try to give top performance myself," he said.

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