“I am disappointed at not only his decision to retire from ODIs but also the timing of his decision”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has expressed his disappointment after veteran batsman Younis Khan announced his retirement from ODI cricket.

Khan made the decision prior to the first ODI against England in Abu Dhabi, in which he was dismissed by Reece Topley for nine runs.

However, instead of paying tribute to Khan on his illustrious 15-year ODI career, Shaharyar was less than impressed with the 37-year-old’s actions.

“I am disappointed at not only his decision to retire from ODIs but also the timing of his decision,” he was quoted as saying by PTI. “Younis has been doing well and that is why the selectors felt he should be played again in the one-day matches. For me it is surprising he announced his retirement today.”

Chief selector Haroon Rashid echoed Shaharyar’s sentiments and conceded that he was confused about the timing of Khan’s decision.

“When I went to Sharjah to meet with the team management and I also talked to Younis, he gave me no indication he was planning to retire from ODIs after the first match of the series,” Rashid said. “We picked him keeping in mind that we needed an experienced batsman in the middle order to stabilise the batting. We picked him keeping in mind our future assignments. He never discussed this retirement thing with us.

“The team will remain balanced but at no stage did Younis convey any desire to us he wanted to retire.”

But, Shaharyar confirmed that Khan will get a fitting send-off as he represented Pakistan in 265 ODIs and scored 7,249 runs, which included seven centuries, at an average of 31.24.