Saeed Ajmal Claims No Pakistan Players Conspired To Remove 'Younis Khan As Captain'

Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has claimed that there was no conspiracy planned against Younis Khan to remove him as captain during the 2009 ODI series against New Zealand in UAE. Saeed Ajmal, a member of the squad, raised his voice after former Pakistan fast bowler Rana Naved claimed senior players deliberately under-performed in the series against New Zealand as they were unhappy with Younis Khan’s captaincy.

“We lost two ODI matches against New Zealand in the UAE during 2009 because some of the players involved deliberately did not play well,” Rana told a local news channel.

Naved had also said that he pulled out of the tour as he did not want to be a part of the conspiracy against his captain.

Saeed Ajmal: No Pakistan player indulged in any activity against Younis Khan

Pakistan began the three-match ODI series with a thumping 138 runs win over New Zealand. But they lost the remaining two matches and subsequently lost the series. However, Saeed Ajmal has claimed that no Pakistan player was indulged in any conspiracy to dismiss Younis Khan as captain.

“I can say with conviction that no Pakistan player indulged in any activity that led to any match being lost just so that Younis Khan could be removed as captain. I played in those games and I know that no such thing happened as we all played to win the game,” Ajmal was quoted a saying by pakpassion.net. 

“I am not sure why Rana Naved feels that there was some conspiracy against Younis Khan. He was an aggressive captain who played with that mindset and in the previous tour of South Africa, we had requested the PCB to advise him to have a better attitude with his team-mates,” Ajmal said.

Ajmal also said that the players had asked Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to ask Younis Khan to adapt better attitude towards his teammates.