Is PCB really victimising Younus?

Asher Butt
A lot is being said about the alleged unfair treatment being extended to former Pakistan captain Younus Khan but given his performance in the last 12 months or, he does not deserve place in the team.
An objective analysis of Younus' career as well as tantrums indicate he has had a turbulent twists throughout and of late his performance has touched new lows. That makes his exclusion more a case of merit than the alleged victimisation.
For Younus, February of 2009 will always remain an unforgettable time in his career. This was the time when he became the third Pakistani to hit a triple century. Younus achieved the feat against Sri Lanka at Karachi during the first test of the series after he had taken over the captaincy from Shoaib Malik. However, without taking any credit from Younus, he was not the only player who got amongst the runs in that match. In fact Sri Lankan batsmen Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Samaraweera both slammed double hundreds as Sri Lanka scored 644. Pakistan replied with 765. Over 1500 runs were scored in the match so one don't need to be a genius to realise that the wicket was a batsmen's paradise.
Prior to the Test Series against the Sri Lankans, Younus played in three ODIs against the Lankans scoring only 28 runs in three innings. Then as Pakistan took on Australia in the UAE, Younus managed just 74 runs in five matches on pitches that he should have thrived on.
The next event for Pakistan was the unforgettable 2009 ICC World T20 World in England and won by Pakistan. Younus somewhat improved his performance in this tournament registering the 50 and 46 not out in the early group games. Ironically Pakistan lost both the games that Younus scored in.
A cursory look at Younus' record in ODIs in the last 12 months make for some interesting reading. During Pakistan's tour to Sri Lanka, Younus was once again out of touch. Once the five match series had been lost 3-0, Younus briefly regained his touch and managed two fifties in the last two ODI's.
This was followed by Younus managing a paltry 53 runs in three innings at the ICC Champion Trophy 2009. While against New Zealand on batsmen friendly pitches, Younus managed just 22 runs in three innings. The ODI series against Australia didn't bring any change in Younus' form and he managed just 67 runs in five innings against the OZs.
So what is one to infer from the above mentioned statistics. The thing that jumps out from all these figures is that Younus Khan has been totally out of sorts. In these circumstances it would be wrong to blame the PCB entirely when its the players himself is to be blamed particularly in the backdrop of the fact that he abandoned the team at the time when it required him the most.
If the national team selectors had picked Younus for the current tour of England, they would have been victimising several of the young batsmen who have made it into the side after giving consistent performances. The case of Shoaib Akhtar can be used as an example to show that despite having a lot of doubters, when Shoaib worked hard and regained his form he was picked for Pakistan regardless of popular opinion which was quite against him.
Younus needs to find some form with the bat rather than trying to play victim. Similarly, attention should be given to the fact that Pakistan has a lot of talented youngsters, such as Umar Akmal, who are not only consistently performing but their innings are leading to victories.
Younus also need to handle his legal team who are leading him into even more isolation from the game. The Pakistan cricket needs to move on and find young talent.