Younis Khan narrates an incident against India when Pakistan fans wanted his wicket to see Shahid Afridi bat

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has a massive fan following in his home country. Back in his playing days, there were a lot of cricket fans who admired Afridi for his maverick personality. One thing that the cricket enthusiasts loved the most about the former Pakistan skipper was his unorthodox batting style. 

Pakistan’s current batting coach Younis Khan narrated a fascinating tale where he was overshadowed by the popularity of Shahid Afridi. Younis recalled an incident from a Test match against India when the Pakistan fans present in the stadium cheered for the Indian team to either take his wicket or his partner’s, Mohammad Yousuf.

Hearing the chants of the home crowd wishing for him to lose his wicket when he was playing at 150 left Younis shocked. However, later he was able to decode that the fans wanted the wicket so that they could see Afridi bat.

“Mohammad Yousuf was batting on 170 and I was probably on 150. And we were playing against India. Suddenly people start shouting ‘please get Younis Khan out, please dismiss Mohammad Yousuf.’

“I was amazed that I was about to get to 200 and we are playing against India in Pakistan but people are chanting. They basically wanted Shahid Afridi in the crease,” Younis said as quoted by Hindustan Times. 

Though Younis refrained from clearly stating the match he was talking about, it is speculated that the veteran was talking about the Test match between India and Pakistan, hosted in Lahore in 2006. It was the only Test match when both Younis and Yousuf smashed a century against India.

I was nearing a double hundred in front of an empty stand: Younis Khan

Elaborating the incident further, the batting coach revealed that soon Yousuf lost his wicket and Afridi came to bat. The batter was at his fluent best as he smashed a stunning 103 runs in just 80 deliveries with the help of seven maximums. However, after Afridi lost his wicket, a strange thing happened in the stadium as almost all the fans left for their homes.

They were just waiting to see Afridi bat and didn’t even sit in the stands to cheer for Younis who was nearing his double century. “Shahid Afridi came to the crease. Hit a few sixes here and there and got out. Amazingly, the crowd left with him. They got value for their money. But here I was nearing a double hundred in front of an empty stand,” Khan added.