Younis Khan, who was the most successful Test batsman for Pakistan and former team captain, thinks that if Bob Woolmer had not died, Pakistan cricket would have achieved much more.
The coach of Pakistani national cricket team, Bob Woolmer was later found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica after losing to Ireland during World Cup 2007 which led to Pakistan’s surprising exit from the competition.
This statement reveals how deeply Woolmer influenced Pakistani cricket during his time as a head coach. The death of Woolmer at the wrong time left a vacuum in Pakistan’s cricketing landscape and Younis’ remarks indicate that he would have been instrumental in guiding the team towards greater success.
“I believe that because if he were alive today, Pakistan cricket would be completely different and he would take it to new heights.” Younis said.
Younis ranked among those Pakistani players who were unhappy about being deprived of support by their authorities while investigations took place into the circumstances surrounding the death of the coach after that tournament. He therefore opined that during those hard times they needed help from above.
“We never sat together on that night as we usually did whenever we lost matches or came out nets,” Younis lamented. “That evening we did not sit down together.”
“I got out on zero and I was very upset about myself so I just locked my room,” PTI quoted him saying on a Pakistani TV channel. “Next morning I didn’t see him at breakfast and later we discovered that he passed away.”
The untimely passing away of Woolmer made many things change in West Indies leading to some sort of uneasiness among members of this squad including Younis, which necessitated rethinking with regard to his plans as far as leading Pakistan is concerned over an extended period of time.
As a result, both PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) and local government sent their own security officers to work alongside Jamaican police in Caribbean. In the end, there was a ruling by the investigating authorities that his death resulted from natural causes.
Woolmer had been preparing him mentally to assume the role of Pakistan’s captain across all formats after the World Cup according to Younis.
“After what happened in World Cup, I changed my mind and I became reluctant captain and no long-term tenure in my mind.”
Younis has revealed that Bob Woolmer’s death forced the team to move to another island. Local police questioned them for three days.
“It was like a torture for us out there. While I appreciate that players must behave as representatives of their countries, it should be the other way around…authorities should also take care of us,” he said.
