'Defiant' Yousuf rules out resignation

Lahore, Feb.5 (ANI) : Under fire for his team's horrendous show in both the Test and one-day series against Australia, Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has made it clear that he would not step down.

Talking to reporters after returning from Australia, Yousuf said he believes that his performance was not so bad during the tour Down Under.

"If the chief selector has resigned it's his thinking. I didn't do badly as captain, not as badly that I should resign or quit," Yousuf said.

"I accepted captaincy when no one was willing to take captaincy for the tours. I took it only because of the country and will continue for the country in future," he added.

Yousuf also blasted the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt for saying that the team needed a young captain, who would be appointed soon.

He said Ijaz's statement affected the team's morale to a great extent during the tough tour.

Yousuf backed his team, saying despite a new and inexperienced squad Pakistan performed reasonably well in both the New Zealand and Australia series.

"Under the circumstances we went there, I think we did well to draw the series in New Zealand. Our players were inexperienced but I think we did well in the Australia Tests," The Daily Times quoted Yousuf, as saying.

ommenting on the ball-tampering controversy involving all-rounder Shahid Afridi, the 35-year-old batsman said he is clueless about why Afridi did it (chomped the ball), and added that his bizarre act brought a bad name to the country.

Yousuf said he hopes Afridi would not repeat his mistake in future again. (ANI)