Younis Khan assigned new designation, to mentor Pakistan U-19 team

Last month, Pakistan’s Younis Khan, who has featured in 115 Test matches for his team in a career spanning over 17 years, announced his decision to retire from international cricket. He conveyed that the ongoing three-Test series against the West Indies would be his last international outing.

But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has already assigned a new role to the legendary batsman after he retires at the end of the ongoing series. Sources revealed that Younis, the leading Test player for the country, will accompany the Pakistan U-19 team for the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand next year in January.

The 39-year-old is already serving as the mentor of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi that lifted the title earlier this year. During the first Test of the ongoing series, he achieved yet another milestone when he became the first ever Pakistani and only the 13th cricketer globally to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

He also holds another rare record to his name in the longest format of the game of scoring a ton in 11 countries. His highest Test score of 313 —against Sri Lanka in 2009 — is the third highest by a Pakistani batsman, after 337 by Mohammad Hanif against West Indies in 1958 and 329 against New Zealand in 2002 by the then captain Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Younis had earlier retired from T20I cricket after captaining Pakistan to victory in the 2009 World T20. In November 2015, he announced his retirement from ODI matches, playing his last game against England in Abu Dhabi.

The Pakistan Cricket Board, realizing the wealth of cricketing experience and knowledge the batsman possesses, was quick to retain him in the cricket fraternity with a new role which will benefit the future of Pakistan cricket. PCB has also planned a grand farewell for Younis and captain Misbah-ul-Haq who will also play his last Test with the 3rd Test against West Indies.