Players repaid the trust and confidence I reposed in them: Younis

It was a script that bellowed splendour as the victorious captain sat down to answer questions for one last time. Perhaps God had given Younis Khan a sneak preview on how the World Cup would curtail on the sun-drenched afternoon when the script was crafted, for he gave a look of a man who knew the ending even before the directors had started casting.

There was no fits of laughter, no continued references to his favourite word ‘fun’, the eyes were not popping out, he termed the sport cricket and not WWF and as he sat draped in the green flag, he wore a calm expression that merely said ‘I told you so’. And as the world stood dumbfounded by the revival that led to the final victory, Younis alluded to the confidence he had in his team from the start and how the win was not a complete surprise.

“Before the start of the tournament, I had labelled ourselves and West Indies as semi-finalists and people laughed at me when I said it,” Younis said. “Even when we failed to perform in the warm-up match, I had complete faith in my players and I knew that we have special something that would take us through.

“Everybody knows we are slow starters but my players knew we needed to win this tournament to lift our nation. It is indeed a huge achievement for us and I’m glad to have given this gift to our troubled nation.”

The win, as Younis pointed out, carried extra meaning as Pakistan had lost the last two finals played on this ground: World Cup 1999 and Natwest Series 2001, both against Australia. Pakistan also lost the inaugural World Twenty20 final against India and with survivors from each of those matches present in the squad, the captain’s plea not to succumb to pressure and apply the finishing touch was heard.

“I chatted to Razzaq and Afridi prior to the final and asked them to hold their nerves and apply the final touch. And I think it worked as Afridi batted sensibly — he even took singles and twos! — and the senior guys performed.’

As he talked of the senior players — adding his own name to the list repeatedly — Younis also took time out to remember Bob Woolmer, the former Pakistan coach who died following Pakistan’s early exist in World Cup 2007, and dedicated the win to the ‘father figure of the team who I owe this trophy and captaincy to’.

“He did well for the team whole incharge, especially me as an individual. If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have been the captain of Pakistan so credit must go to him for our achievement. I can just see how happy he would’ve been had he been sitting here right next to me.”

Not forgetting the performing youngsters in the team, Younis sent out a plea to nations to resume playing in Pakistan. It will, according to Younis, not only provide a distraction for the terror-struck nation but will also promote the sport among the Pakistani youth.

“Everybody is following Twenty20 cricket and since we are the champions now, I request all the countries to come to Pakistan. The law and order situation is not good but that’s not our fault and we need international cricket in Pakistan to motivate youngsters, especially at school and college level and I believe this will help build new cricket structure in Pakistan.” While that plea is not the one to be answered in the foreseeable future, by lifting the trophy Younis not only ensured a temporary grin on the Pakistan faces, but also fulfilled his personal dream of following in the steps of Imran Khan as a world-cup winning captain but issued a warning that there exists a world outside Twenty20.

“Imran Khan was my hero and I had dreamt of lifting the World Cup and being remembered as a world-cup-winning captain after I leave the sport. Although it brings me a lot of pleasure to have accomplished that, we must perform well in the coming series and ensure all the hard work does not go to waste.

“I still believe Twenty20 is a fun game and a great entertainment factor and we came out emphatic winners [by eight wickets]. However, if we promote it too much then there will be no Test matches and therefore we must do something about this [Twenty20].”

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in DAWN newspaper June 23, 2009