Butt Urges Younis to Return to Pak Team

Islamabad: Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ijaz Butt has urged Younis Khan to quickly end his hiatus from the national team and play against Australia in the three-Test series next month.

Former captain Younis is on a break from international cricket after Pakistan lost the One-day series against New Zealand 2-1 earlier this month in Abu Dhabi.

"It's my personal opinion that I want him to compete against Australia," Butt told reporters.

Pakistan has named Mohammad Yousuf as captain for the three-Test series in New Zealand which begins at Dunedin on Tuesday.

Last month, the PCB appointed Younis as captain through to the 2011 World Cup, but he was under tremendous pressure due to his poor form after scoring only 22 runs in the three ODIs against the Kiwis.

Younis said he wanted to regain his batting form in the domestic competition and will only then decide whether he is available to play internationally.

Pakistan's parliament cleared Younis of match-fixing allegations during the recent Champions Trophy. He quit the captaincy in protest at the allegations, but later met with Butt and took back the captaincy.

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