All is not well with the Pakistan men’s cricket team, plagued by on and off field issues. The team had a dreadful run in the last two World Cups – ODI and T20I, leading to a massive uproar in the country’s cricket fraternity. The experts have been demanding a complete overhaul of the entire structure, expecting a better future even as there are reports of fissures within the team.
Amid the unrest, former captain Younis Khan remembered the late Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s former coach, stating that his presence would have changed the country’s cricketing culture.
The Pakistan cricket team suffered twin jolts during their forgettable campaign at the ODI World Cup 2007. They were knocked out in the group stage and on the other hand, their then head coach, Woolmer, was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica.
Younis, Pakistan’s highest run-getter in Tests, believes that had Woolmer been around, the country’s cricket would have reached great heights.
“I have no doubt that if Woolmer had remained head coach, Pakistan cricket would have been very different today, and he would have taken it to great heights,” he said on a Pakistani TV channel.
Younis also indirectly expressed disappointment at the lack of support the players got from their authorities when they were under investigation following Woolmer’s death.
“I was very close to Bob (Woolmer) and it was our daily routine to sit down together after a match or nets to discuss cricket. Unfortunately, the night he passed away, we didn’t sit together as we had lost to Ireland.
“I was also out for a duck and was very upset with myself. So, I went to my room and locked myself in. The next day, I didn’t see him at breakfast and later we learnt about his death,” he added.
Younis said Woolmer’s death and the stress the players had to undergo in the West Indies changed his mind about captaining Pakistan on a long-term basis.
“After what all happened in the World Cup, I changed my mind and I became a reluctant captain and had no long-term tenure in mind.
“It was like a torture for us there. While I fully understand the responsibilities a player has to show as an ambassador of his country, it should be the other way round… authorities must also look after us,” he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
