Pakistan cricket to lose two legends of their game after Windies Test series with Younis Khan confirming his international retirement
Veteran Pakistan batsman and former captain Younis Khan announced on Saturday he will retire from international cricket after the upcoming Test series in the West Indies.
"I will be retiring … with my head held high," the 39-year-old told a press conference in Karachi.
"I think this is the right time as every sportsman has to take this decision in his career."
Younis, who has captained Pakistan in all three formats and led them to their only World Twenty20 title in England in 2009, needs only 23 runs to reach 10,000 Test runs.
Younis finishes unbeaten in superb 175
He missed out on hitting the milestone after his team's disastrous tour of Australia in January this year, when Pakistan lost all three Tests.
Younis has so far scored 34 Test centuries in 115 matches - the most by any Pakistani batsman - and is set to become the first Pakistani and 13th batsman in the world to score 10,000 or more runs.
India's Sachin Tendulkar currently tops the charts with 15,921 runs in 200 matches.
Younis is the second high-profile player to retire this month after his team mate Misbah-ul-Haq also announced his decision to quit on Thursday following months of speculation.
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The pair have formed the nucleus of Pakistan's batting in the past seven years and helped their team square a crucial Test series 2-2 in England last year.
On Wednesday the two stalwarts were named in Wisden's best cricketers of the year 2017, following their performances on the England tour after which Pakistan briefly rose to number one in Test rankings for the first time.
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Younis hit a hundred in his first Test against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi in 2000, which started a glorious career during which he also scored a double hundred in Pakistan's series-levelling win against India at Bangalore in 2005.
"I was planning this for few months," he said of his decision to quit.
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"I always tried to play for my team and for my country."
The West Indies series which starts in Jamaica from April 21 followed by Tests in Barbados and Dominica, ending on May 14.
