Want to be remembered as 'team man': Younis Khan

Pakistan veteran batsman Younis Khan, who will bid adieu to international cricket after the upcoming three-match Test series against West Indies, has expressed his desire to be remembered as a 'team man' whose only focus was performing for his side.

The 39-year-old insisted that he wants aspiring cricketers or youngsters to think of him as their role model after he takes retirement from Test cricket.

"When I am not in this dressing room, when I am not playing international cricket, I want youngsters to think of me as a role model.I want them to think that what Younus bhai would do in different situations. I want them to think of me when I leave. I want to leave such a legacy," Younis said in a video interview for the Pakistan Cricket Board's Facebook account.

 

"Also, I want everyone to remember me as a team man, as a batsman who always played for Pakistan and the team," he added ahead of the Test series against the Caribbean side beginning April 22 in Barbados.

When asked to name his favourite innings, Younis said that his debut Test against Sri Lanka in 2000 was the most memorable one, the Express Tribune reported.

"My first Test run was the most important one for me. It was a memorable one. I scored that against Sri Lanka in 2000 in Rawalpindi. Almighty helped me score a century too [in the second innings]," he revealed.

He further enlisted some other great moments of his career, saying "My 149-run innings against New Zealand in Auckland, the innings against India in Calcutta, where we were playing after a Test match defeat, then I made 200 in Bangalore, and the 175 in Australia, the innings in England, and yes, the triple hundred. Pakistan youngsters needed someone to look up to at that time; that innings made me the third-ever Pakistani to score a triple ton."

Over the 17-year span of his career, Khan has been a hugely successful batsman. One of his major achievements was leading the Pakistan side to a win in the 2009 T20 World Cup.

With a Test average of over 50, a triple-hundred, a double-hundred against India and a memorable partnership to guide Pakistan's 3-0 Test series win against England: Younis's career speaks for itself.

Younis is just 23 runs short of becoming the first Pakistan batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs. He has 9,977 runs in 115 Test matches, the highest run-aggregate for a Pakistani batsman in Test cricket.

In January, Younis also became the first cricketer in Test history to score centuries in 11 countries when he smashed his 34th hundred in the third Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), tying him with Sunil Gavaskar, Mahela Jayawardene and Brian Lara in the all-time list at 6th place.