Why did Younis Khan quit as Pakistan batting coach?

KARACHI: Former Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan revealed Thursday he parted ways with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after he allegedly received a threatening phone call from the board’s director of international cricket. 

Khan, the only Pakistani who captained the national squad to a T20 World Cup victory in 2009, was speaking at a private news channel where he revealed the reason for quitting the coveted post of batting coach. 

The former batting coach said he left a players’ camp in Lahore as he had to take care of his dental surgery and also spend time with his family before the team departed for back-to-back tours in England, West Indies and the T20 World Cup. 

“Everyone knows my situation; I have a wife and three kids,” he said. “If I cannot give time to my children, how can I give time to the youngsters of Pakistan?” he added. 

Khan said he informed the PCB that he would not be able to join the team on its upcoming tour as he had undergone dental procedures on June 16 and June 18. 

He said his doctor had advised him to join the camp on June 22 or June 23 since he was due for another procedure. The board, however, wanted Khan to join the bio-secure bubble from June 20. 

However, Khan said he received a threatening phone call from the PCB director of international cricket, who told the former captain that since he did not report to the bubble on June 20, he cannot travel with the team on the England tour. 

Khan said then, the PCB director asked him whether he “remembered what we (PCB) did with Mohammad Hafeez” or not. 

“I told him ‘I am Younis Khan, not Mohammad Hafeez,'” Khan revealed. 

Hafeez had been dropped in February from the national squad after he did not make it to a bio-secure bubble owing to his T20 cricket league commitments. 

Khan said he resigned as batting coach in January as well after the PCB’s high performance centre started interfering with his duties. 

Khan said he took back his resignation when PCB CEO Waseem Khan apologised for the incident. The former batting coach said he was not informed about the bio-secure bubble by the board, adding that he received a call on June 22 from the board’s doctor who asked him why he hadn’t joined the bubble yet.

“I told him it isn’t possible for me to join the bubble as I have a surgery coming up,” he said.