Younus wants captaincy guarantee

ISLAMABAD // Younus Khan wants guarantees he will be Pakistan skipper until the 2011 World Cup if he is to take back the captaincy following his sudden resignation earlier this week, local media reported today. Younus quit the captaincy on Tuesday, in protest at match-fixing allegations that saw him brought before a parliamentary standing committee on sports. The committee exonerated Pakistan of match-fixing during the recent Champions Trophy.

"Younus Khan has placed a demand of captaining the side until World Cup 2011 if the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) wants him to take back the resignation," GEO television said. The PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, confirmed meeting Younus in the eastern city of Lahore today, but said there was no immediate resolution of Khan's concerns. "Yes I met him today, but wait for couple of days," Butt said, while making no comment on reports of Younus' 2011 World Cup condition.

Butt did not accept Younus' resignation when he presented it before the parliamentary committee members on Tuesday. However, Younus handed his resignation to the PCB chief when Butt was leaving in his car after the meeting. Younus was angered by the taint of match-fixing allegations which first surfaced in the Indian media soon after Pakistan lost a Champions Trophy match against Australia. Later, the chairman of the parliamentary committee, Jamshed Dasti, also alleged that Pakistan deliberately lost to Australia in order to prevent India qualifying for the semi-finals.

* AP