KOLKATA, Dec 2: A reluctant Younis Khan has openly stated that he should not be blamed for Pakistan’s dismal performance in the ongoing second Test against India here at the Eden Gardens.

Younis, who is deputising for the injured Shoaib Malik as captain in the Kolkata Test, wrote in his column in The Hindustan Times on Sunday that he felt like a ‘hapless and clueless’ captain.

“I’m neither the captain here, nor the coach. I’ve been asked about the decision to play Shoaib Akhtar, who is obviously not well. Well, people should ask the decision-makers.“I am not responsible for certain decisions that have been taken. I was informed on the morning of the match that I would lead and I’m doing my best in leading a team that has been given to me,” Younis wrote after the second day’s play.

He claimed that he been given powers to make the decisions, he would have taken the job in a different frame of mind.

“If I had had a say in decisions, then I would have done things differently. At the same time, most of you have realized what our coach [Geoff Lawson] and manager [Talat Ali] were doing on the morning of the game – they were in the uncomfortable position of having to count bodies and see whether we could field a full team or not,” Younis went on.

“Forgive me I am admittedly a reluctant skipper at the moment. Even the most experienced and enthusiastic individual in this seat would have felt the same. But here I must add that I do not like making any excuses, or blaming anyone.”

Younis’s latest comments should attract the attention of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Because of instead of asking the players to concentrate on their game, the PCB has yet again allowed it to crumble under players-power pressure and let several individuals in the squad to openly express their views in the media during the course of the current series.

The thoughts of Younis is a clear indication that the environment in the Pakistan camp is far from friendly since some of the players are unhappy at handling of the crisis within in the ranks in the wake of injuries and other related problems.

Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri, writing in the same daily, remarked that Pakistan got horribly wrong with their selection.

“The team selection was absurd and the spirit was missing. It was wrong to include Shoaib Akhtar in the playing XI. I must qualify that he bowled with a lot of heart on the second day, but most of the damage was really on the first day.

“Pakistan needed an attack to take advantage of an early start on a fresh wicket after [losing the toss] and all we saw was Shoaib struggling to run up to the crease. Spinner Abdul Rehman could have been a better choice but I wonder if he would have been of any use on the first or most of the second day.