Afridi wants Younus to come back

Flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi feels that former captain Younus Khan has some years of cricket left in him and the country needs his services for some more time.

Younus pulled out of the Test tour to New Zealand after Pakistan lost a one-day series to New Zealand in Abu Dhabi amid reports that some players in the team had formed a group against him to quit captaincy.

"Pakistan team is missing Younus Khan and I think he must come back and continue playing international cricket. He still is a very good player," Afridi said.

"I think if he had gone to New Zealand it would have been good for him because he needs more time out in the middle. If he plays one big innings his form and batting confidence will be back to normal," he added.

Afridi, who is T20 captain, said the ongoing Test series in New Zealand will be a tough test for Pakistani batsmen.

"We have a world class bowling line up and Mohammad Asif's return is a good sign for us but it will be a real test for our batsmen in New Zealand conditions. They have to play well and put runs on the board for our bowlers to do something," he said.

Afridi said if the board offers him the opportunity to captain the team in ODIs he would accept the responsibility.

"Nothing of this sort has happened as yet but I am proud to lead Pakistan in Twenty20 cricket. If PCB offers me ODI captaincy I will not back out of it," he said.