KARACHI, 3 August 2007 — Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s most prolific batsman in recent times, has left the national training camp under progress here in preparation for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, citing domestic problems.
Pakistan manager Talat Ali told Arab News here on Wednesday that Yousuf has headed back to his hometown Lahore to be with his sick mother.
“Yousuf told me that he has to go home to be with his mother who is quite ill,” Talat said. “The player has told the team management that he would let us know about his future plans once he gets to know about his mother’s condition from her doctors,” he added.
Yousuf, who turns 33 on Aug. 27, is a part of a 30-man preliminary squad for the Twenty20 World Cup to be played from Sept. 11-24.
While Talat refrained from making any further comments, Arab News learned from reliable sources that Yousuf has left the training camp after it became evident that he would not be included in Pakistan’s final 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup likely to be announced on Aug. 6, the final day of the Karachi camp.
Sources said that Yousuf has been unhappy after learning that he might not be considered for the Twenty20 World Cup in which the national selectors want to try out some new players.
There have been reports which suggested that the national selectors will not be picking the prolific Yousuf because he is one of the weaker fielders in the national lineup. The selectors are convinced that in fast-paced T20 games, poor fielders can be a major liability for the national team.
Yousuf, who was the highest run-getter in Tests in 2006, is one of the best batsmen Pakistan has ever produced. He averages 56 in Tests and has scored 6553 runs from 75 matches.
He has scored 8081 runs from 242 one-dayers at an average of 41. The Lahore-born batsman has also featured in the only T20 International Pakistan has played, against England in Bristol last summer, and made 20 in it.
In a recent newspaper interview, Yousuf made it clear that he feels himself fit to play in the shorter version of the game adding that he wanted to represent Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
However, some experts believed that his orthodox style might not be suited to the T20 version of international cricket and also question his unimpressive fielding skills. Analysts in favor of picking Yousuf believe he can provide stability to a somewhat brittle Pakistani batting lineup.
