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It's over for me: Yousuf

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Press Trust of India Lahore
Former Pakistan cricket captain Mohammad Yousuf has said that he has completely given up hope of making a comeback to international cricket and it is all but over for him.

"I don't follow cricket now and my focus is not on the sport anymore. It is over for me," Yousuf said.

Yousuf, 39, however made it clear that he held no grudges over the fact that despite serving Pakistan cricket for so long he had not got an opportunity to retire with dignity from the sport, neither had the national cricket board given him a farewell or recognised his services.
 

"I am not bitter but yes, it is sad for me. But then in Pakistan cricket most senior players have been treated this way. I am not the first to face such a situation," he said.

Yousuf said he would never accept any position or assignment with the current cricket set-up.

"It is a very bad system and it does not treat seniors fairly. I wouldn't like to be a part of it," he said when asked if he was ready to help the Pakistani batsmen as a coach or a consultant.

Yousuf, who scored 7530 runs at an average of 52 in 90 Tests and also accumulated 9720 runs in 288 One-day Internationals, last played for Pakistan in November 2010 against South Africa.

Since then has been sidelined by the selectors despite insisting that he was fit to play Tests for the country.

The former skipper said what saddened him was that neither the board nor the selectors had bothered to ever talk to him and tell him why they had dropped him or why he didn't feature in their scheme of things.

Yousuf minced no words while lashing out at former teammate Waqar Younis.

"Sometimes I think the biggest problem in our cricket are these senior players. Waqar caused a lot of damage to our cricket," Yousuf said.

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First Published: Oct 05 2013 | 8:30 PM IST

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