Younis Khan earns a recall to Pak ODI squad

Pakistan’s senior batsman Younis Khan finally made a comeback to the national one-day squad on Thursday for this month’s one-day series against England in the UAE.

Younis was recalled to the national ODI squad for the first time this year after having last played in the World Cup in early March in Australia and New Zealand.

“We have included Younis in the one-day squad to add more stability to the middle order keeping in mind our future assignments,” chief selector Haroon Rasheed told the media. “It is now up to Younis to prove his credentials in one-day cricket once again,” the former Test batsman said.

The chief selector had to travel to Sharjah to meet with the Pakistan team head coach Waqar Younis and ODI captain Azhar Ali and convince them that Younis should get another shot at this format.

Speculation was rife that Waqar in particular is not in favor of including Younis and banking on the younger players. Since March 2013 Younis has played just 11 ODIs as the selectors have shown little faith in his abilities to convert his test form into the 50-overs format.