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Younus quits T20 - LahoreEstate - 06-22-2009 03:39 AM
LONDON (AFP) - Pakistan captain Younus Khan announced his retirement from T20 internationals after leading his side to victory in the 2009 Twenty20 final against Sri Lanka at Lord’s here on Sunday.
“This is my last Twenty20 game for Pakistan, so I am retiring from T20 internationals,” Younus said after Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets.
“I am now 34, I am old for this kind of cricket. The good thing is we have a couple of good youngsters like Shahzaib (Hasan) and Ahmad Shahzad.”
However, gifted batsman Younus - who has appeared in 60 Tests and 186 one-day internationals - is set to continue his international career in the longer formats of the game.
Cricinfo adds: Younus Khan used cricket’s grandest stage to announce his retirement from Twenty20 internationals, and make an impassioned plea for teams to once again play cricket in his country. The Pakistan captain added that Sunday’s emphatic eight-wicket World Twenty20 victory over Sri Lanka could go far to saving cricket in his homeland, which is struggling to attract younger generations at a time when no international matches are being played within its borders.
Younus’ final act in Twenty20 international cricket was to lift the trophy that so narrowly evaded Pakistan two years prior. Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal are the leading contenders to take over the role of Pakistan 20-over captaincy.
“This is my last Twenty20 game,” he said. “I’m old now for this kind of cricket.”
Younus will continue to play Test and ODI cricket, and hopes he will again have the opportunity to lead his national team on home soil. The deteriorating security situation in Pakistan - highlighted by the March terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus outside the Gadaffi Stadium - has prompted national boards and the ICC to push for Pakistan’s home matches to be played in neutral venues.
Younus has previously warned that the absence of international cricket could kill the game in Pakistan and push impressionable youngsters into the clutches of terrorists. Speaking at the post-match press conference at Lord’s on Sunday, he implored teams to return to Pakistan, and expressed hope that his side’s World Twenty20 victory would help reinvigorate interest in cricket among his nation’s youth.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/22-Jun-2009/Younus-quits-T20