Younis to skip Champions League
Batsman says he prefers playing first-class cricket than Twenty20
Cricinfo staff
21-Sep-2008
Younis Khan will give the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League tournament a miss, choosing to concentrate on playing first-class cricket with South Australia. His decision follows a clearance from the PCB allowing him to sign a contract with the Redbacks for the upcoming Australian domestic season.
Having won the first season of the IPL with the Rajasthan Royals, Younis was eligible to play in the Champions League tournament, beginning on December 3, featuring the Chennai Super Kings, runners-up of the IPL, Western Australia and Victoria from Australia, the Titans and Dolphins from South Africa, Sialkot from Pakistan and Middlesex from England.
"Twenty20 might be popular but to me it is nothing compared to first-class cricket, " Younis told Pakistan's Geo News channel. "I would prefer first-class because that is real cricket and that is where a player is really tested."
Younis will be joining South Australia from mid-October after playing in Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 competition and a quadrangular tournament in Toronto, involving Pakistan, Canada, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.