MillenniumPost
Sports

‘Owe my progress as batsman to Dravid’

Younis said if he could become a solid number three batsman in Pakistan side, he owes it to Dravid.
“The tips and advice I got from Dravid at the early stages of <g data-gr-id="29">the my</g> career helped me develop into a top batsman who was comfortable at the number three position,” Younis said when asked about reports that the former Indian captain had helped him out in the past.

Younis said he spoke to Dravid on a tour and later on a couple of occasions about his batting technique and got some very good advice which helped him improve his batting skills.

“Dravid was a top class professional and one of the greats of the modern era and I learnt from him,” he said.

The outspoken Pakistani senior also admitted for the first time that his decision to quit as <g data-gr-id="35">captain</g> in 2009 was a mistake.

“When I was made captain in 2009 I had told the then Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Ijaz Butt that if I didn’t deliver I would resign from the captaincy myself. “I decided to resign as captain when we were in Abu Dhabi playing against New Zealand in late 2009 because I felt I couldn’t deliver as I couldn?t unite the team,” Younis said about the incident where he went to Butt and offered his resignation which was accepted. 

The resignation came after a few players revolted against the captaincy of Younis. But the Pakistan batting star made it clear that he regarded Ijaz Butt who remained Chairman from 2008 to 2012 as one of the strongest heads of the board he had seen. “Ijaz was ready to take hard decisions even with players. He supported me a lot as captain and he was the one who made me the captain and we went <g data-gr-id="25">onto</g> win the World T20 Cup in England in 2009.” 

Next Story
Share it