Younis Khan eyes milestone
KARACHI: When Younis Khan hangs up his bat at the end of Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies, it will likely be with a final Test milestone against his name.
Younis is just 23 runs away from becoming the first Pakistan player to score 10,000 Test runs.
With the first of three Tests against the West Indies beginning tomorrow in Kingston, Jamaica, few would bet against him marking his swansong with a final foray into the record books.
Since his debut in 2000 against Sri Lanka, he proved his ability to adapt to different conditions by scoring centuries in every Test playing nation, including double hundreds in India and England.
His batting average of 53.06 is the highest by any Pakistani who has played 10 Tests or more.
But for all Younis’s recordbreaking individual achievements, former team-mate and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said his former captain should be remembered for his selfless personality and team ethic.
MURALITHARAN IN HALL OF FAME
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan will become the first player from the nation to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame during the 2017 Champions Trophy, which is to be held in England and Wales in June.
Muralitharan will be joined by former Australia captain Karen Rolton, Arthur Morris of Don Bradman’s ‘invincibles’ and George Lohmann, the 19th century fast bowler who took 100 wickets in just 16 Tests.
They will be presented with commemorative caps honouring their contribution to the game, with family members representing Lohmann and Morris at the presentations.
BANGLADESH RECALL SHAFIUL ISLAM
DHAKA: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday recalled medium-pacer Shafiul Islam and left out Nurul Hasan, Subashis Roy and Shuvagata Hom from the 15-strong team for the ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in England and Wales in June.
This will be the first time Bangladesh are participating in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in more than a decade. They last p0layed in the Champions’ Trophy in 2006 under the captaincy of Habibul Bashar.
The cut-off date for announcing squad is April 25 for the eighth edition of the eight-team tournament. South Africa and Australia have already announced their squads for the tournament, second in importance only to the showcase event World Cup.