New Delhi: Former Pakistan skipper Younis Khan believes Bob Woolmer would taken the country’s cricket to greater heights had he been alive.
Woolmer died while on duty for Pakistan during the 2007 ODI World Cup. He was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica after Pakistan’s defeat to Ireland.
The loss led to Pakistan’s elimination from the tournament, leading to suspicions of foul play. However, his death was later ruled due to natural causes.
“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,” Khan said.
Pakistan Cricket Board and the country’s government sent their own security officials to Jamaican to probe his death alongside local police.
Khan said after the discovery of his death, the Pakistan players were moved to a nearby island to be questioned for three days by the police.
“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,” he said.
Pakistan’s highest run-getter in Tests, Khan was part of the Pakistan team in 2007 recalled his close association with Woolmer.
“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, the former right handed batter said.
“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 learnt about his death,” Younis said on a Pakistani TV channel.
Khan revealed that Woolmer’s death and the subsequent players had to undergo in the West Indies led him to ditch plans of captaining the team for long.
“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.”
Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica after Pakistan’s defeat to Ireland in the 2007 ODI World Cup. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
