'I will be happy to see Inzi lift the trophy...' - Younis

Younis Khan, who was reinstated on Saturday morning as Pakistan captain, hours before the team took off for India to play the Champions Trophy, scoffed at speculation that his team would be under pressure as a result of the latest crisis in Pakistan cricket. Hours after landing in New Delhi, Younis put up an anxious but smiling face in front of the media, repeatedly pointing to his positive "body language" as proof that everything was fine where the team was concerned.

"The team has been one and our performance in the last two years is evidence of that. And if there was a problem I wouldn't have come here to play the tournament and the sole reason for that is our team's unity," he said.

In a series of spectacular incidents Younis had been appointed captain two days back but refused it saying he didn't want to be a "dummy captain." Mohammad Yousuf was appointed as replacement, only for Younis to recalled by the newly appointed PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf.

One subtle hint that the Pakistan camp may not have got over the turmoil yet came when the team manager Talat Ali, introduced Younis as "Mohammad Yousuf" right at the start of the media session. Both Younis and coach Bob Woolmer blushed but tried to laugh out the matter. Woolmer,aware of the predatory nature of the media, wanted to pre-empt discussion on the topic.

"It has been an eventful month-and-a-half, one that will be recorded well in my brain for a long time, but I'll say that it is now history. Unfortunately for all of you who would like to know all that happened in the last few days and in the last one month, we are going to put all that baggage behind us, put it in a dustbin, put it away and get on with the cricket," he said.

In fact, Woolmer thought that the team could use the pressure as a catalyst to regain the team's focus. "When you have these sort of pressures you can either crumble and disappear and not want to play or you can use them to strenghten team spirit and to play the sort of cricket that will put us back on the map and take all these issues."

Pakistan begin their campaign against an undecided qualifer on October 17, then go on to play New Zealand and South Africa and Woolmer is not underestimating either of the latter two teams. One piece of good news for the team is the return of Mohammad Asif who was under an injury scare during the Mohammad Nizar Trophy match between Sialkot and Uttar Pradesh last month. Younis was confident that his team would reach the final as "we have a balanced team and our biggest advantage is the presence of some good allrounders even if the absence of our captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is a big loss to the side."

Asked if he would step down if Pakistan reached the final, by when Inzamam would've served his four-match ban, Younis said there was no doubt about that. "It will be really good if we win our first four games in the Champions Trophy and then Inzy comes back and I will be ready to stand down as captain. I will be really happy to see him lift the trophy while I am standing behind him. He has been one of my heroes right from the 1992 World Cup."

Repeatedly, Younis stressed that it was not the captaincy stakes but respect that mattered to him. "It has never made a difference for me if I am made the captain or not. I know that the captain's chair is always a big issue in the subcontinent but I wouldn't like to be involved in the captaincy race. The only thing I look for is respect in the team and if my word is being heard. Inshallah I should be playing for at least three years and I am trying to play that in a clean and neat fashion."