Pak batsman Mohd Yousuf rubbishes media reports of retirement from int'l cricket

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf has rejected media reports which said that he has retired from international cricket.

The 38-year-old cricketer said that he is already out of the Pakistan team and haven't played top class cricket for a while now, so there is no need for him to announce any retirement, reports the Daily Times.

Yousuf last played for Pakistan in an ODI against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in November 2010.

He further said that he would like to see more young players coming up and establishing themselves in the team.

Yousuf said that in all cricket playing countries players were given appropriate send off upon their retirements but this tradition was not being followed by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

He said that a number of great players, including Wasim Akram, left the game and nothing was done by the PCB to acknowledge their achievements for the country. He said it is quite discouraging for those who are associated with the game.

Yousuf said he was also willing to take up any assignment of batting coach or consultant by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Yousuf is one of Pakistan's leading batsmen with 7530 runs in 90 Tests and 9720 runs in 288 one-day internationals with a total of 39 hundreds. But since 2010 he has been out of favour with the national selectors and has in recent times devoted most of his time to religious activities.