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Yousuf snubs comeback offers for England tour

KARACHI - Muhammad Yousuf has snubbed offers to come out of retirement for Pakistan¡¯s tour of England, saying he was disappointed with the country¡¯s cricket board for banning him in the wake of the team¡¯s shambolic Australian tour.

Yousuf, 35, had rejected requests from newly appointed test captain Shahid Afridi, he told Reuters.

¡°I will not change my decision about the retirement. What happens in the future only God knows,¡± he said.

Yousuf announced his retirement from international cricket after he was banned for an indefinite period in March following Pakistan¡¯s whitewashed test and one-day series defeats in Australia this year.

Another six Pakistan players, including former captains Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, were either banned or fined after the tour, which sparked an investigation by the International Cricket Council¡¯s anti-corruption unit amid match-fixing allegations ¨ûID:nLDE64J1UR¨ü.

Despite Yousuf¡¯s ban, Afridi had tried to convince him to make himself available for the tour, which starts in June and includes four tests against England and two against Australia.

¡°I am still disappointed at the way the board treated me and with the ban because I didn¡¯t deserve it as I have always given my 100 percent to the team,¡± Yousuf said.

¡°I don¡¯t think I am mentally ready for international cricket at this stage. I do plan to play the next domestic season to see how it goes,¡± he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board included the banned Younis and Malik in a 35-man short-list for the Asia Cup and the England tour, but their final selection was to be conditional upon their bans being overturned on appeal. Yousuf had not appealed.

Yousuf, who played 88 tests and 282 one-day internationals, scored three test hundreds on Pakistan¡¯s last tour to England in 2006.