Saj Sadiq presents his case for why Younis Khan needs to hang up his green cap and retire from the ODI Format.

By Saj Sadiq (11th June, 2012)

You have to whisper the word retirement quietly in Pakistani cricketing circles as rarely do Pakistani cricketers retire of their own accord. Whether big names or a relative unknowns, it goes the same way - they are usually coerced into hanging up their green cap rather than voluntarily bidding farewell.

Sadly over the years very few Pakistanis have had the pleasure and the honour of enjoying the goodbye their performances and service have deserved. Many of the greats of Pakistani cricket have tamely retired and walked into the sunset with hardly a whimper.

Great cricketers deserve better, great cricketers deserve more recognition, but great cricketers also need to be honest and realise when their time is up, irrespective of the format. Too often we have seen the greats of Pakistan cricket hanging onto former glories and occupying a spot in the team that could in theory be given to a more deserving and younger cricketer.

There is nothing wrong with admitting your time is up, there is nothing wrong with holding up your hands and admitting that it’s time to give up on one or even two formats whilst carrying on in another format. Living on your former glories irrespective of how magnificent they were is unfair and unhelpful. Experience is a vital component of any team but experience also needs to perform and ensure that he is contributing to the team’s efforts.

Younis Khan is a superb cricketer, he epitomises the professionalism of the modern day cricketer. Fit, athletic, a team man who has served Pakistan cricket for more than twelve years. Over 13,000 international runs are not to be sniffed at and a Test batting average of over 52 has been achieved through years of hard work and commitment. He will always be remembered as a great servant of Pakistan cricket.

Younis made his one day international debut in Karachi in February 2000 making 46 off 41 deliveries against Sri Lanka and has gone onto represent Pakistan in the 50 over format on 243 occasions. An average of 32.33 and a strike rate of 75.64 is acceptable but not world class and if Younis were to analyse his statistics he would undoubtedly be honest enough to admit that he could and should have done better. If his one day record was an exam, he'd probably receive 60%.

In a middle order of Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam ul Haq, Younis’ steady pace was not as visible as it is these days. If Younis failed, then generally Inzamam or Yousuf would “produce the goods” for Pakistan. However the class of 2012’s batting does not have that explosive edge or that stability to it and Younis is frankly being exposed.

The similarity of the current Pakistani batsmen in the 50 over format means that more often than not Younis does not have that time to build his innings. The steady and cautious approach is exposed due to batting quite often with a partner, Misbah, who is batting in a similar vein and with a similar mindset.

Younis’ last one day century was in November 2008 against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi. Overall he has six one day centuries in 234 innings, which equates to a century in nearly every 56 innings. Additionally 5 of his 6 one day centuries have been reached on Asian wickets, the other being against England at Southampton in 2006.

Younis has also made 47 half centuries which is a fantastic achievement but in addition he has also been dismissed for under 20 on 119 occasions. The vast majority of Younis’s innings in the one day format have been at number three or number four, so really there is no excuse for him that he has had to bat in the latter overs of an innings very often.

Whilst Younis remains an integral part of the Pakistan Test side, I think the time is right now for him to ease himself away from one day international cricket. I feel that retiring from one day cricket could also extend his Test career which should be his priority.

34 year old Younis remains a great fielder, a bundle of energy, a thinking cricketer who provides good support to the captain but Younis is not in the one day team for his tactical awareness or his fielding, his primary objective is to score runs in that middle order and sadly he is not doing that on a regular basis or indeed quickly enough.

His country needs Younis, but he is needed in the 5 day format than in the 50 over format, and for that reason I hope Younis quits one day cricket after the completion of the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka.

Younis at a packed press conference in June 2009 at Lords in front of me retired from the Twenty over format only to return for three below par innings in this format. I only hope that this time Younis retires from one day cricket and sticks by that decision.

The time is right Younis to make a decision and I hope that he makes the right one after the tour of Sri Lanka.