Yousuf 's Appointment as Cricket Captain
By Dr. Aamir A. Salaria
St. Peters, Missouri It is heartening to read about the appointment of Mohammad
Yousuf as the captain of the Pakistani test team in your newspaper. This is
indeed the best thing that has happened after a very long time in Pakistan
cricket.
Mohammad Yousuf is by far, the best cricketer in the current Pakistani team. He has got a class of his own which is hard to emulate by anybody. Just imagine, when he recently returned to the national side after an absence of more than 18 long months, he immediately announced his presence in the side with a `big bang' by scoring a test match hundred in an away series against Sri Lanka - one of the best cricket teams in the world today.
No doubt, Younus Khan was a great player but he has lost his prime form and is currently unable to lead from the front. He has also lost the confidence of his own team mates because he is unable to lead from the front anymore. He should have read the writing on the wall much earlier but even now, it's not too late to call it a quits.
I am quite sure that Mohammad Yousuf will lead the Pakistani side with courage, distinction, dedication, discipline, faith, unity, perseverance and from the front - a vital trait in captaining any side of the world since cricket was invented more than 250 years ago.
Good luck to Mohammad Yousuf in his new but challenging assignment. My message at this crucial juncture in time and history to him and the whole Pakistani cricket team is to `keep it up and hang on tough.'
