 Shahid Afridi, the Pakistani captain has said that he has requested Mohammad Yousuf
to come out of retirement and try and play for Pakistan in the series in England.
Pakistan plays Australia and England in England, and this includes T20Is, ODIs
and Test matches.
Afridi said that that he had spoken to former captain Yousuf and he had also
spoken to some of the elders who are said to have an influence on Yousuf about
his impending comeback. Shahid Afridi added, "I am sure that he
would listen to them and change his mind about retiring from international cricket.
We will certainly need his services in England."
Earlier, Yousuf had announced his retirement from international cricket, after
he was banned by the PCB. The PCB had applied an indefinite ban on both, Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan and had said that the players can appeal against
the ban by a particular date. Younus Khan appealed against the ban, but rather
surprisingly, Mohammad Yousuf decided to not appeal and announced his retirement
from international cricket. This meant that Yousuf had been banned for life.
The other players who were also penalised were Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal,
Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan Rana.
All the cricketers except Rana and Yousuf have been selected in the 35-member
probables squad and will be eligible for selection, based on the decision of
the jury which is examining the players' appeal.
Pakistan go to England in June after playing in the Asia Cup and will
play two T20Is against Australia, to be followed by two tests against the same
opposition and four Test matches against England, and five ODIs against England.
Afridi was confident that Yousuf would be able to acclimatize, even if he were
to make it to the squad at the eleventh hour. He said, "Yousuf is a great
batsman and I'm sure that even if he just plays in a couple of warm-up matches
before the Test series, he will be ready for the tough assignment. He won't
need much time to get ready for the tour."
Yousuf has confirmed that Afridi had indeed spoken with him, but said that
he cannot think of a comeback unless his seniors allowed him to do so. Yousuf
seeks out religious elders during his trips to Raiwind and based on their advise
he makes all his important decisions.
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