Hasan Ali Apologized To Me And I Forgave Him: Former Pakistan skipper Younis Khan
Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has rejected reports that he stepped down as the national team’s batting coach due to an argument with batsman Hasan Ali but also declined to state the exact reasons for his decision citing contractual obligations.
Younis resigned a few days ago but neither him nor the Pakistan Cricket Board offered any explanation for it. Later, media reports blamed the series of events on Younis’ tiff with Ali over ice bath following a training session.
“Let me make it clear that the reason for my decision to step down as batting coach is not the incident with Hasan Ali. The entire episode has been blown out of proportion,” he said in an interview in Jang newspaper.
According to a few sources, Younis Khan and Hasan Ali indulged in a verbal argument during Pakistan’s South Africa tour earlier this year. After the tourists beat the Proteas by nine wickets in Centurion, Khan tried speaking to Ali over an issue outside his domain; however, the fast bowler responded rudely. It said to have left Younis unhappy and he stayed quiet for the remaining part of the tour.
In retrospect, Hasan Ali had allegedly refused to take an ice bath following that T20 fixture, irking Younis Khan. The right-arm seamer declining to follow trainer Yasir Malik’s instructions of going for an ice bath made the batting consultant lose his composure. As a result, bowling coach Waqar Younis had to intervene to solve the matter.
(With Inputs From Agencies)