Yousuf's fate to be decided tomorrow
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will decide on Tuesday whether to retain senior batsman Muhammad Yousuf as captain for the upcoming Test and one-day series against Australia.
With Younus Khan unavailable for the tour and Pakistan coming back well against New Zealand by winning the second Test, Yousuf is expected to lead the side at least in the Test series. But the PCB is yet to decide whether the reins of the one-day squad be also handed to Yousuf.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 game in the December 19 to February 5 tour. "We have not taken any decision as yet on having separate captains for the Tests and one-dayers but I personally feel there should be one captain for both formats of the game," PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt said.
Butt said he would ask chief selector Iqbal Qasim why Younus did not play in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and what were his future plans. "I will confer with the chief selector on Tuesday before we decide on the captaincy for the Australian tour," he added.
The squad for Australian tour will also be announced on Tuesday with Younus now out of contention for at least the Test series, starting December 26. PCB sources say the selectors were interested in having separate captains for the Test and one-day teams as they feel Yousuf, with his age and weak fielding, was not a certainty to be in the 2011 World Cup squad.
"The selectors feel that Shahid Afridi is the best man to lead the team in one-day internationals as he has done a good job in the Twenty20 internationals," one source said. The source disclosed that Afridi is willing to lead the team in the 50-overs matches which would be conveyed to the PCB Chairman in his meeting with the chief selector.
