The great Younis Khan debate

This has been a great debate on Younis Khan’s volte face, and it is clear that people on all sides of the debate are genuinely concerned about the future of Pakistan cricket and unwilling for the cricket board to be anything less than professional.

It is also clear that Younis had tremendous support to become Inzamam’s successor and he has created serious doubts among many of his supporters about his fitness to lead Pakistan. But there remains much good will towards Younis and I share that.

He has always lead Pakistan well and usually struck me as a composed, brave, and jovial character. Let’s hope his hasty resignation—which I still maintain was a dumb way to register his protest—is a moment of madness that will not be repeated. But as I learned when I worked as a psychiatrist, “nothing predicts behaviour like behaviour.”

As for the PCB, it’s hard to harbour any conviction about its fitness for purpose. We will have to judge the new leadership by its deeds and already the decision-making has polarised opinion. Talat Ali has added to concerns by getting off to a bad start—at least Zaheer Abbas knew which player was which. And Younis not knowing that Inzamam would not be available for the final, if Pakistan makes it, was another managerial gaffe.

Finally—before we move on as many of you have rightly suggested—Younis Khan is being freely compared to Imran Khan in his leadership and his desire to do it his way. Well, Imran showed his real strength when he had also shown that he was an indispensable captain of Pakistan. Younis has some way to go before he matches Imran as a leader. Indeed, he isn’t even yet the proper captain, let alone indispensable. History rarely looks favourably on nearly men.

PS I think we’ve had enough comment on this one.