Kingstown, Jamaica: Younis Khan became the first Pakistan player to complete 10,000 Test runs as his team reached 201 for four in reply to the West Indies first innings total of 286 at stumps on the third day of the rain-affected first Test at Sabina Park on Sunday.
Younis moved on from a painfully slow start to get to 58 while Babar Azam stroked 72 in dominating a 131-run third-wicket partnership with the former captain to give the tourists the ascendancy into the final session of the day.
“I credit this success and achievement to all my family members, especially my late father, my mother and the late Bob Woolmer, who always motivated me,” Younis was quoted as saying. “This is not just my achievement, this is for everyone in Pakistan, this is Pakistan’s achievement.”
Asked about the void his retirement would leave in the side, Younis said someone else would step up and perform for Pakistan like he had done.
“I don’t think after retirement there should any problem in the team,” he said. “That’s a part of life. When I came in I saw many legends retiring in 2003 and a lot of youngsters came with Bob Woolmer and we managed to come on top. So it won’t be any problem. Someone else will come and stand like me and perform.
“In last three four years I have completely shared my life with the young players. I have told them how to maintain fitness. I haven’t done anything big on my fitness but 10-15 minutes in my daily routine. It’s a routine that I have kept simple but I have done it on regular basis that it becomes a habit. Once you do something regular, it becomes your habit and things automatically fall in your way. So you have to create it and then you start performing in crisis because that is in your habit.
“I have tried my best to tell them everything — what to do, how to practice, what to do after at the match, what to do after scoring a hundred and what to do after scoring zero. So I am sure if I am not around, they will follow it to become successful. To score 10,000 runs you have to make up your mind first. If you take an example of Virat Kohli after Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement, he went on with an aim and a goal. So I am sure in the coming years, he will surpass Sachin.”
Playing his first Test in the Caribbean after missing the 2011 tour due to the death of his brother, Khan the former captain eventually started to creep towards his 10,000th run, triggering the celebrations when he swept a delivery from off-spinner Roston Chase in the first over after tea to the backward square-leg boundary to become just the 13th player overall — and the oldest — in the history of the game to scale that summit.
“I thought about bowing out of international cricket three years ago but one of the motivating factors for me to stay was to get to 10,000 runs,” Younis said.
Hailed as a potential successor to Younis as the permanent occupant of the number three batting position, Azam enjoyed a moment of luck just after lunch when West Indies captain Jason Holder failed to hold on to a caught-and-bowled chance with the batsman on 12.
Yet just as it looked as if their partnership would continue until the close of play, Gabriel broke through.
Younis mistimed an off-drive to give to be caught at extra-cover and become the fast bowler’s 50th Test wicket. Then in his next over a tentative Azam played on to spark further celebrations among the West Indian players.
