Younis shouldn't have skipped NZ tour - Afridi

Shahid Afridi has said Younis Khan, who stood down as Pakistan captain on Wednesday, should not have backed out of the upcoming New Zealand tour. Pakistan cricket was plunged in another familiar bout of turmoil after Younis resigned as captain and decided to take a break from the game, saying he had "no command over the team".

"He was having problems but I don't think he should have taken the decision to skip the tour," Afridi told Pakistan's Geo TV. "He should have played on because the captain is the central figure in a team."

In Younis' absence, Mohammad Yousuf has been named captain for the Test series in New Zealand, which starts on November 24. Younis promised to return to international cricket, but did not specify when he would make a comeback.

Younis had quit after a long-running dispute with several senior players was not resolved. There was added pressure on him after a poor run with the bat in both the Champions Trophy and the recent one-dayers against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi, which Pakistan lost 2-1. He had relinquished the captaincy last month after the Champions Trophy, following allegations of match-fixing, but was persuaded to remain at the helm, and was even appointed leader till the 2011 World Cup.