Annoyed Younus quits captaincy, refuses to withdraw

The high drama took place during the hearing of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports in Islamabad which was being held to discuss the performance of the national team in the recent Champions Trophy.

Younus submitted his resignation during the hearing to the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaj Butt, protesting the statement made by the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Sports Jamshed Dasti, who had alleged that the team had deliberately under-performed against Australia and New Zealand in the Champions Trophy.

More drama followed as Butt returned the resignation to Younus and Jamshed Dasti told the angry cricketer that his statement had been misunderstood and he never made any match-fixing allegations against him or his teammates. But when the hearing ended and Butt came out of the hearing and sat in the car, the 31-year-old Younus came running behind him and again handed over his resignation.

"Younus told the Chairman he didn't want to be captain and left in his car," an eyewitness said.

Butt later told reporters that he had full confidence in the leadership abilities of Younus and had told him to take back his resignation.

"But obviously if this matter is not resolved, then it would be discussed at the meeting of the governing council on October 19," Butt said. Younus, who had led Pakistan to the Twenty20 World Cup triumph earlier this year, was hurt by the match-fixing allegations levelled at him and his teammates after they crashed out in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy.

A provincial sports minister, also a PCB Governing Council member, alleged an Indian hand behind Pakistan's semifinal defeat, while others felt Pakistan had tanked their matches against Australia and New Zealand.

Younus played the semifinal match with a fractured finger and dropped a crucial catch that proved costly and it only added fuel to the fire at home.