Younis 'shocked' by ODI squad exclusion

Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has expressed 'shock' at not being part of the 16-man ODI squad to face South Africa, saying he was available in all formats and had hoped to be selected ahead of younger batsmen.

Pakistan batsman Younis Khan has expressed 'shock' at not being part of the 16-man ODI squad to face South Africa, saying he was available in all formats and had hoped to be selected ahead of younger batsmen.

The 35 year old player has not played limited-overs cricket for Pakistan in months, the last being against South Africa in March, but still felt he should have been called up considering the inexperience of the batting line-up.

Younis said of his exclusion: "I'm surprised I am not in the one-day team. It's quite shocking for me. I am available for all formats of the game.

"As long as I am fit, I will carry on playing and I would like to play in all formats. Even after I captained Pakistan in the 2009 World T20, I didn't want to stop playing the twenty-over format.

"But once I am not fit anymore and I can see my body is taking strain, then I will be honest enough to say I am going to stop playing."

The thing that bothered Younis the most was the fact that the younger players replacing him, like Umar AMin, Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad, hadn't done a much better job then he did, and he said if they deserved their place he'd be the first to congratulate them.

The veteran continued: "I am happy if somebody replaces me and performs. Whenever I share my ideas and experience with the younger guys, I always tell them that it's about performance.

"I think if the youngsters are here and they perform well, I will be the first one to be happy for them."

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