From the August Edition of SCORELINE Magazine
Kumara Sangakkara, one of the modern
day great batsmen, when once asked to share the expert tips about batting, had
no hesitation to name Younis Khan as the man he followed to perfect the art of
playing the sweep shot. Another undebated great of the time, AB DeViliers, on
another occasion, also named Younis Khan as the man he watched to play the shot
with some terrorizing perfection. Both of these men are acknowledged globally
as modern day greats of batsmanship. If mastering the art of batting is some
distinction, imagine what it means to be a role model, a distant teacher, to
two of the modern day masters of that craft.
Fittingly, it was a sweep shot that
enabled Younis Khan to become the first Pakistani to claim the distinction of
5-digit Test Runs. Eventually, the same sweep shot turned out to be the last
shot he played in International Career. Sweep was the shot he mastered in his
time and fittingly, it became his identity and he will be remembered for that
particular shot for a long time to come. Forward sweep wasn’t the only version
that brought him a memorable moment, it was the reverse sweep that brought him
his 300th run at Karachi to become the third triple centurion from
Pakistan.
There seems to be some special
connection between Younis and sweeps. Watching closely what was being sent his
way, keeping an eye on the positioning and posturing of the opponent, judging
early the projectile of the delivery, staying low, stretching out to the
maximum and once the target is within his range, swat it with ruthless
perfection to send it beyond the line, get up and get ready to face the next
challenge - he applied the same principles and technique not only on the field
but all of his off the field 'shots' as well.
Rashid Latif, former Pakistan Test
captain, summed it up perfectly when he said, Younis is the only man who played
on his own terms and still managed to go on for so long in Pakistan Cricket.
All throughout his career, Younis Khan carried this persona of gentle-rebel who
kept on rejecting the predefined norms and practices, stand for a principle,
fight for it and come out victorious in the end. There were countless norms
that he simply swept away during his 17 year career.
Even at the end of his career, he
broke all the norms and paved his own departure route. Pakistan produced many a greats but almost
none of them could pick the time and venue of their liking for their final
show. The practice prevailed for so long that it became the unsaid norm of
Pakistan Cricket. Younis Khan stretched out and swept away this nagging norm as
well. As he beautifully explained, during the event organized at Lord's to pay
tribute to his career, he retired at the time when people were still asking why
he is retiring rather than the time when people would have started asking why
is he not retiring.
With his appropriately timed
retirement, he swept away another norm of Pakistan Cricket, that is, of
Pakistani superstar Cricketers retiring not just unceremoniously but in
uncelebrated and controversial manner as well. It was probably the retirement
of the little Master Hanif Muhammad that set this norm - or maybe of legendary
Fazal Mahmood years before him - and it lasted as recently as the retirement of
Shahid Khan Afridi. Before Younis, Afridi was the last superstar of Pakistan
Cricket and sadly, it followed the very same norm. Arguments about the
technicalities of his career aside, nobody can argue that Afridi was one of the
biggest, if not the biggest, megastar of Pakistan and his charisma, fan
following and crowd-appeal was probably the biggest among all the cricketers
ever played for Pakistan. If nothing more, his career deserved to be
celebrated, if not by the board but at least by private bodies, associations
and institutions. But the confusion, speculations and controversy that
surrounded Afridi's retirement made sure that not a single event, of some
stature, could be organized, by either PCB or otherwise, to celebrate a career
that lasted well over two decades. It may have been a big surprise in some
other part of the world but in Pakistan Cricket, its just the norm; the norm
that got swept away, finally, by Younis Khan.
While Pakistan Cricket Board is
still pondering upon how to honor the man who served that very institution for
17 years, the very first month after Younis Khan's last day in Pakistan colors
registered three very prominent and commendable tribute events hosted not by
the PCB but by three very different hosts. Not only by their venues, these
tribute events also varied in their theme but each one of them served the
purpose of commemorating the illustrious career of Younis Khan.
This 'chain of events' started at
nowhere else but at Lord's, the home of Cricket. There can’t be any bigger
tribute for any Test Cricketer to attend a gathering in his honor nowhere but
right there, in the home of Cricket. And if that Test Cricketer happens to be a
Pakistani, it just makes it even rarer and more unique. It was the first time
when this legendary career was remembered and re-told at a place where many a
legends were created and told before. Ebba Qureshi, an independent
Marketing and PR consultant based in London, came up with the idea of such an
event and from the day Younis gave his consent to for it, during the West
Indies tour, she managed to pull it all off in just 15 days. Thanks to
conspiracies of the nature, the writer also ended up being one of the invitees
and experiencing the event by himself.
The event was meticulously thought out
and expertly delivered. From the choice of the venue to the timing of the
gathering, the dress code, the run order, the souvenirs, the guests, the
speakers, the majestic setting of Lord’s Long Room and even the weather, it all
resonated the personality and the career of Younis Khan. It all looked as
disciplined, organized, graceful and royal as Younis himself. As the hosts
later shared, LORD’s management was extremely forthcoming and supportive in
every aspect. They changed the menu to all halal and even allowed to customize
it to satisfy the Pakistani taste buds.
On such a short notice, the hosts
did not only manage to get UBL, Younis Khan’s employer, and other sponsors
onboard but they also managed to ensure the attendance of Pakistan’s High
Commissioner as well as the Pakistan team management and the players at the
event, which was an achievement in itself. Pakistan players and team management
drove all the way from Birmingham to attend the event and went back the same
where their camp for Champions Trophy 2017 had already begun. The words of
tribute, from the current players and team management, sandwiched between the
light-hearted banter made the late afternoon even more enjoyable.
If the fact that the event was being
hosted at the same venue where Younis lifted T20 World Cup some 8 years ago,
the presentation of Wisden Almanack added prestige of the evening. Lawrence
Booth, the editor of Wisden, presented Younis Khan the Wisden Almanack with his
name embossed at the cover. It was followed by Younis donating his bat and
batting gloves to the Lord’s museum. The guests didn’t leave the scene without
something more than moments to remember the evening, they all carried a
specially designed miniature bat signed by Younis. All in all it was a nicely
arranged event to honor the career of Younis and the hosts did a commendable
job in pulling it off on such a short notice.
The regal tribute at the Lord's was
shortly followed, appropriately, in a more glittery and glamorous event hosted
by Jazz in Islamabad. Younis Khan being their brand ambassador, Jazz celebrated
his career in a more festive fashion punctuated not only with live music where
Younis also joined the singing party but also with a very artistic and
delightful stage performance to narrate the story of Younis Khan's career. The
magnitude and level of attention to details at the event spoke volumes of
commitment and seriousness of the hosts in paying the tribute to Younis Khan.
The next in the series was the more
sedate and less glamorous event hosted by Younis Khan's employer, United Bank
Limited. Arranged during the month of Ramadan, it was simple yet graceful and
elegant. It was more a straight to the point gathering where the
distinguished guests including the President of UBL and former captains of
Pakistan, Rashid Latif and Moin Khan paying their tributes to Younis Khan for
his exemplary career.
In ideal world, such events mean
nothing special but in the context of history of Pakistan Cricket where no
Cricketer in the past, as great as Kardar, Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Muhammad,
Mushtaq Muhammad, Zaheer Abbas, Imran, Miandad, Wasim, Waqar, Saeed Anwar,
Inzimam or even Afridi, was given such tribute, the very execution of these
events have swept away the dreaded norm of unceremonious and uncelebrated exit
of its superstars from Pakistan Cricket. It has set a trend which is bound to
be followed in months and years to come for other cricketers as well.
The whole idea of sharing the
summary of these events is just to give a glimpse of it to everyone to know
what has already been done and what could be possible even without the
patronage of or dependence on Pakistan Cricket Board. It is also to thank all
these organizers on behalf of all fans of Pakistan Cricket for honoring a star
of the game they love. This may also encourage more individuals and
organizations to come forward and honor other stars of Pakistan Cricket as
well.
Eventually, it may also wake up PCB
from its deep slumber and realize its responsibility in honoring and paying
deserving tribute to its very own very successful and exemplary servants. In
the end, it’s not a responsibility of anyone more than PCB to honor its
legends. For every retirement in the past, PCB availed the convenience of using
uncertainty and bitter attitude of the players for not organizing such events
and hence embracing the dreaded norm. They can step forward to rewrite the
norms of retirement in Pakistan Cricket, now.
Whether PCB would do
anything, any time soon to reconstruct the norm, Younis Khan has swept away
quite a few already and knowing him, he is bound to dash out a few more sweeps
of this sort before he is done.