Waqar Younis Terms Bangladesh as his Second Home

Former Pakistan fast bowler and national team coach Waqar Younis revealed he has a great affection for the Bangladesh as it is second home after his motherland Pakistan.

“Bangladesh is like my home after Pakistan,” Younis was quoted as saying by Bdcrictime.

Pertinently, in the ongoing edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Younis was coaching the BPL outfit Sylhet Sixers which is being led by Nasir Hossain.

The 46-year-old Punjab-born Younis reiterated it had been an exciting journey with the BPL outfit Sixers while adding the players have given their best during the shortest version of the domestic game.

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During Younis’ tenure as Pakistan chief coach, the Pakistan side was also whitewashed in the three-match ODI series in April 2015 when Men in Green played under Azhar Ali.

“I have some bad memories here as well. Pakistan has been whitewashed here by Bangladesh. At that time, I was Pakistan’s head coach. So it’s a very painful memory,” Younis recalled.

Younis reminisced the then Bangladesh played some outstanding cricket and is hopeful to see the Tigers coming good in the top-flight cricket.

“In one word, Bangladesh played excellent cricket in that time. They played better cricket than us as a team. I hope that Bangladesh will progress more day by day,” Younis asserted.

In the eliminator at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Delhi, Comilla Victorians eased past Sixers by 25 runs on Wednesday (December 6) which sent the Sylhet-based outfit packing in the seven-team tournament.

As of now, after playing 12 matches in the ongoing fifth edition of the BPL T20 league, Sixers side is placed at number fifth as they won just four and lost seven which saw them collecting nine points with the net-run rate going into minus as -0.265.

In his latest interview, Younis, who has been appointed as the Team Director of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise also has expressed an interest to work as a coach if given a chance by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) while emphasizing that he has been already enjoying the commentary stints followed by the coaching role with the distinct team.

“To be honest, I don’t know what I will do if I get the proposal. I am spending good time where I am now. I work as a coach in some teams, I do commentary too, I am roaming around the cricket world,” Younis further added.

With Sixers team already knocked out of the competition, Waqar remarked it had been a learning curve for him as a mentor and a massive experience for the players to up the game in the foreseeable future.

While expressing his love for Dhaka city, Younis stated he had cherished the memories of playing in Bangladesh, before returning to guide his wards in the gentleman’s game.

“I have good and bad memories in Bangladesh. I have good memories of playing here too. I have great memories of Dhaka. Dhaka is an excellent city for me,” Younis remarked.

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However, Younis remarked he has been to different cities of the country, and there is a treasure trove of memories.

“Apart from here, I have spent good times in Sylhet, Khulna and Chittagong too. I have so many good memories that I don’t want to mention any particular memory,” Younis concluded.

Younis played 262 One-day Internationals followed by 87 Tests between 1989 and 2003.

The veteran bowler claimed 789 wickets across formats for Pakistan.