Younis Khan, Misbah ul Haq threaten to not play PSL if not given leadership

The PCB ignored Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq from the list of icon players.

Former Pakistan captains Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq have raised their concerns over being excluded from the inaugural Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) icon players list and are willing to skip the Twenty20 tournament if they are not given captaincy.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced its list of icon players for the upcoming PSL and both Misbah and Younis along with former Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez were omitted from the list. However, the category included three foreign players.

It was under Younis Khan’s captaincy when Pakistan won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009. Test captain Misbah also captained the side in the shortest format of the game from 2009-12.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted a PCB source to have said, “They are not happy and indications are that they will convey to the board that if they are not given leadership positions in the PSL franchise teams, they may skip it.”

Last week Younis Khan expressed a desire to take up a managerial role in the PSL which is scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 4th - 23rd February, 2016.

In an interview he told the reporters, “I would like to have a leadership position in the PSL like say being captain or mentor besides being a player.”

Both Younis and Misbah have retired from the limited overs format and only play Test cricket for the national side. Both players are considered to have a very good rapport with current players. Last month, the PCB honoured their services to Pakistan cricket by inducting them into the board’s “Cricket committee” as advisors.

The preference for foreign players rather than Pakistani players in the list of icons is likely to become another bone of contention within the board.

The 38-year-old Younis, on November 11, quit the 50-over format after being selected for the first one-day international against England. Which according to coach Waqar Younis, left a “negative impact” on the team.

The Pakistan head coach said “I gave him the batting position that he wanted and I gave him the guarantee that he would play in all four of the fifty-over matches against England,

“He wanted to prove a point and I guess he feels he has proved his point but I feel it wasn’t the right way to do it.”

List of icon players in PSL – Shahid Afridi (Pak), Shoaib Malik (Pak), Chris Gayle (WI), Kevin Pietersen (Eng) and Shane Watson (Aus).