Confusion reigns over Yousuf recall

The decision to call back Mohammad Yousuf to the Pakistan squad remains the subject of some confusion, with the PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt denying he took it upon himself to bolster a faltering middle order and impose his choice on a touring side reluctant to take the veteran back. It has also raised concerns over the impact Yousuf's return may have on the team given the circumstances under which he was axed earlier this year.

A few hours after losing to England at Trent Bridge by 354 runs, the second-biggest defeat Pakistan has suffered in terms of runs, the PCB announced that it was calling Yousuf back into the squad. The move came in light of a batting line-up that has consistently struggled through the English summer so far; in the second innings in Nottingham, the side were bowled out for 80. An inexperienced middle order has produced a solitary fifty in six innings on tour so far and Pakistan have failed to get past 300 in any innings.

But Cricinfo understands that neither the captain Salman Butt nor coach Waqar Younis were in the know over the call-up to Yousuf until the board's press release arrived. Statements from both over the last two days of the Test suggested they were more than happy to persist with the likes of Azhar Ali, Umar Amin and Umar Akmal. Other members of the touring management set-up hint that they were not consulted before the decision and were told only after it had been made.

Ijaz Butt, however, insisted that the request had come from the touring selection and management committee, which is made up of the captain, the coach and the manager. "This was discussed by everyone in the aftermath of the Test," Butt told Cricinfo. "We had spoken about the return of players when Salman took over the captaincy and the matter was deferred. We discussed it and the tour selection committee made an official request for Yousuf which was then approved by the selection committee."

Yousuf was one of seven players punished by the board following the tour to Australia earlier this year, a series during which he was captain. The board decided in the aftermath of an inquiry that Yousuf "should not be part of national team (sic) in any format" in view of "infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team." Instead of appealing against the punishment as each of the other six did, Yousuf retired from international cricket altogether. Recently, however, he said that he would come out of retirement if the team needed his services.

But while other players, such as Shoaib Malik, came back into the team following their appeals and others, like Younis Khan and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, are still stuck in a procedural limbo, Yousuf has gone through no such process to return. Legally, the PCB, says his call-up is fine as there was no ban in the first place. "There was no ban on Yousuf ever, that was only a term used by the media," Taffazul Rizvi, the board's legal advisor and part of the Australian tour inquiry committee told Cricinfo.

"We simply said he would not be picked by the board until at a time of their own choosing. It was the media that called it a ban. It was always left to the discretion of the PCB to select him again and they have used that now to pick him. Yousuf, by not appealing, accepted the verdict and now is back."

Butt said that Yousuf's retirement was the only obstacle in the way of his return. "Once he had retired that was the main obstacle as far as we were considered and it was up to us whether we selected him again or not," he said. "Once he confirmed to us that his retirement has been taken back we selected him."

The legal aspect is an important one because of the question of Younis, who was given the same punishment as Yousuf. Yet he continues to be ignored for selection, largely it is believed, because of personal differences with Ijaz Butt: the chairman said only that there are "complications" with the case. His case is now back with the PCB to reconsider. "Younis appealed and his case was remanded back to the PCB, where it can be reconsidered," said Rizvi. "He has not approached the PCB so there is a status quo as far as the board is concerned with Younis."

The fall-out of that Australia tour might linger on in England, however. Yousuf has been part of a well-publicised, long-running dispute with Shoaib Malik, dating back to Malik's ascension to the captaincy after the 2007 World Cup. Yousuf also publicly criticised the current captain Salman Butt during the Hobart Test in January, calling him "a lazy runner" after the pair were mixed up in a run-out. Yousuf later said that during the ODIs in Australia, he felt six to seven players were trying to oust him as captain. The atmosphere, as one on-tour official acknowledges, will not be improved.

Questions have also been asked about Yousuf's fitness and lack of match practice. Since the Australia tour, he has not played any competitive cricket, save for a couple of Twenty20 matches in a local club tournament in Lahore. A number of officials and selectors do not seem to be entirely aware either of precisely how much cricket Yousuf has been playing in recent months and how much training he has undergone, other than that he has been in touch with the game. "My information is that he is fit and he said as much when I asked him," Butt said.

Though there is a push to have him take part in the second Test, due to begin on Friday in Edgbaston, the chances of him making it in time are slim. An application has been made today in the UK to change his existing visa to the required one for sportspersons. If that comes through by tomorrow (Tuesday) then Yousuf should be on the plane by Wednesday. "We're trying our level best to have him here for the second Test," Yawar Saeed, the team manager, told Cricinfo. "If it works out we should have him on a plane by Wednesday."