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Mohammad Yousuf shrugged his shoulders on Sunday when asked if he thought he’d be sacked as Pakistan captain after his team’s troubled tour of Australia.
“This is not in my hands. It’s in the board’s hands,” Yousuf said after the tourists were crushed by 140 runs in the second one-day international at the SCG.
“I’m always (ready to) serve my country as a player or captain, it doesn’t matter.”
Ricky Ponting’s Australian side can claim victory in the five-match series with another win in game three in Adelaide on Tuesday.
Named Pakistan’s leader for a drawn Test series in New Zealand in November followed by a 3-0 Test defeat against Australia in December-January, Yousuf is set to be replaced by Younus Khan.
The ex-skipper is back with the ODI squad after missing the two two recent Test series because of a self-imposed exile.
“This captain (Yousuf) was for this series only and we will decide after the tour of Australia about the captain, we will change,” PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told Pakistan television this week.
“We did not change Younus. Unfortunately the sports committee of the parliament made him run away after they levelled match fixing allegations against him.”
Younus quit after the standing committee on sports alleged the Pakistan team had thrown a match against Australia in the Champions Trophy in South Africa in September.
“Younus was a good captain but he was hurt on the allegations and quit. Now we will soon decide about the change,” Butt said.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is among those to have criticised the board’s ill-timed statement.
“Even if the board thought that Yousuf is not good enough to captain the team, they should have waited till their return,” he said on the Cricinfo website.
“Ever since the team had gone to New Zealand and Australia, there is total chaos and lack of communication between the team management, selectors and board.
“This is another example of that lack of communication, which will only contribute to the team’s poor show.”
Pakistan play Test series in England later in 2010 against Australia and England, with Younus likely to regain the captaincy.
In the meantime, Yousuf is expected to be given the task of keeping the troubled squad in a competitive frame of mind for the remainder of the ODI series against the world champions.
Younus was asked at his post-match press conference on Sunday if he thought he would still be captain on Tuesday.
“You want that I lose it now?,” he smiled.
“This is not in my hands. Everything is in the board’s hands.”
Asked what he could say about his side’s comprehensive loss, he said: “Nothing,” before adding Australia had batted and bowled well.
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