Former Pakistan captain and highest run-getter in tests for his nation, Younis Khan, hinted that he was disappointed with the lack of assistance the players received from their authorities during the investigation that followed Bob Woolmer’s murder. Younis was a part of the 2007 ODI World Cup squad of Pakistan, which faced defeat at the hands of Minnows Ireland.
Younis Khan believes that if the late Bob Woolmer, the former head coach of Pakistan’s national team, had still been alive, the country’s cricket game would have flourished tremendously. Woolmer was discovered dead in his Jamaican hotel room, a few hours after Pakistan’s match-day loss to Ireland and consequent elimination from the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
“I have no doubt that if Woolmer had remained head coach, Pakistan cricket would have been very different today, and he would have taken it to great heights,” stated Younis.
“I was very close to Bob (Woolmer) and it was our daily routine to sit down together after a match or nets to discuss cricket. Unfortunately, the night he passed away, we didn’t sit together as we had lost to Ireland. I was also out for a duck and was very upset with myself. So, I went to my room and locked myself in. Next day, I didn’t see him at breakfast and later we learned about his death,” Younis spoke on a Pakistani television channel.
Younis stated that Woolmer’s passing and the strain the team faced in the West Indies caused him to reconsider serving as Pakistan’s long-term captain. Following the dispatch of government and Pakistan Cricket Board security personnel to the Caribbean to collaborate with the Jamaican police, Woolmer’s death was eventually deemed to be the result of natural causes.
Woolmer, according to Younis, had mentally prepared him to take the helm of Pakistan in all formats for a long period following the World Cup.
“After what all happened in the World Cup, I changed my mind and I became a reluctant captain and had no long-term tenure in mind,” Younis said.
Younis claimed that following Woolmer’s passing, the players were transferred to a different island and interrogated by the local police for three days.
“It was like a torture for us there. While I fully understand the responsibilities a player has to show as an ambassador of his country, it should be the other way round… authorities must also look after us,” the ex-Pakistan captain continued.
