Veteran Pakistan batsman Younis Khan, who recently announced that he will bid adieu to international cricket after the ongoing three-match Test series against West Indies, has said that he might reconsider his retirement plans if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) says it still needs his services.
The 39-year-old admitted that although it is a right time to retire from the game, he could think of prolonging his Test career should PCB ask him to play on.
"I could have played more. I think the right time to retire is when people want you to stay, not when they are thinking your time is up. So, I think, it is a good time for me retire. Yeah, I will think about it. It all depends on if my team needs me. If they request me or people want me, then why not? But it all depends on my team," cricket.com.au quoted Younis, as saying.
Pakistan Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who had also confirmed that the ongoing series against the Caribbean side will be his last, admitted that Younis remains a vital member of the team and urged him to 'play on'.
"My personal feeling is that Pakistan still need Younis Khan and he can play for another year or two, but I'm not sure if others agree with me or not. I talked to him about it in Australia and told him that 'you can play on'," Misbah said.
Misbah insisted that though there are some really good youngsters in the team, the void left by Younis' absence would be extremely difficult to fill.
"Even though we have some very good youngsters in the team, the gap left by Younis' absence will be difficult to fill. The Pakistan team will not just miss him as a batsman, they'll also miss him as a mentor. He has been a terrific role model for everyone and it will be very tough to replace him. Every member of this team, including myself, has learnt a lot from him. He has changed our dressing room culture. If one wants to be successful in professional life, one only needs to regard Younis Khan's organised and punctual lifestyle from breakfast to bed," he added.
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.
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