Younis refuses Pakistan captaincy for Champions Trophy

LAHORE—Younis Khan dramatically refused the cricket captaincy of Pakistan, just two days before the team was due to fly to India for the Champions Trophy.
"I don't want to be a dummy captain and the reason why I have refused the captaincy will be revealed afterward," Younis told reporters at a press conference in Lahore with coach Bob Woolmer.
The stylish 28-year-old batsman was scheduled to hold a full press conference ahead of the team's departure for Jaipur on Saturday but instead he turned up, uttered one sentence and left.
Younis was appointed captain late last month after the International Cricket Council (ICC) slapped a four match ban on captain Inzamam-ul-Haq following August's Oval Test fiasco.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director operations Salim Altaf and manager designate for the Trophy Talat Ali failed to convince Younis during a 30-minute meeting held at the national cricket academy here.
Altaf earlier told reporters: "Younis has not told us any reason and we are in negotiations with him. As soon as we get any details we will reveal them to the media."
The PCB was holding an emergency briefing at its headquarters in Lahore between chairman Shaharyar Khan and other officials.
Pakistan's regular captain Inzamam was also summoned to the meeting.
Inzamam was banned by the ICC last week for bringing the game into disrepute after he led his team's refusal to play in the fourth Test against England at The Oval in August.
But he was acquitted of ball-tampering, the allegation which led to Pakistan's protest.
Sources said the apparent reason for Younis's refusal was disagreement over the selection of Faisal Iqbal as the 14th player for the Trophy. Iqbal was named Tuesday to replace Inzamam as player.
The PCB would not confirm the reason.
Younis has led Pakistan in two Tests and two one-day internationals, winning and losing one each in both forms of the game.
The latest row to engulf Pakistan's cricketers comes days after Woolmer said his young side would have to learn to live without master batsman Inzamam in future.
Pakistan opens the Trophy with a match against a qualifier team in Jaipur on October 17 before taking on New Zealand (October 25) and South Africa (October 27) -- both at Mohali.
The tournament starts with a qualifying round featuring defending champions West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh from Saturday. Two teams will qualify for the main rounds starting from October 15.—Agencies