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Karachi: Pakistan captain Younis Khan vowed on Wednesday to win the Champions Trophy in honour of Bob Woolmer, the team's former coach who died during the 2007 World Cup.
"I'll go to Bob's home (in South Africa) and celebrate the Champions Trophy win with his family," said a confident Younis ahead of the Champions Trophy which gets underway on September 22.
Woolmer was coach at the last Champions Trophy tournament in 2006 when Pakistan were plagued by off-field problems.
Younis, standing in for the banned Inzamam-ul-Haq, resigned in protest at being made a "dummy captain".
Middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf was appointed, before Younis was given the job a day later after a change in the Pakistan Cricket Board set-up.
Then, a day before their opening match against Sri Lanka, Pakistan had to withdraw frontline fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif who had failed dope tests conducted before the team's departure for India.
"Those were testing times and Bob was very disappointed, when after winning the first match, we lost the next two, because he wanted to win the Champions Trophy," remembered Younis.
A year after the Champions Trophy, Pakistan unceremoniously exited the World Cup in the West Indies, where they embarrassingly lost to outsiders Ireland in the first round.
The next day, Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica, a death initially treated as murder by the Jamaican police, who quizzed the Pakistan players, before deciding the death was due to natural causes.
"Bob is the missing portion of our cricket and we feel his absence," added Younis, who is now the regular captain of the side which leaves for South Africa on Thursday.
Younis said he was in regular touch with Woolmer's widow and sons.
"I have been in regular touch with his wife and when we won the World Twenty20 in England in June we dedicated the trophy to Bob. This time too we will dedicate the Trophy to him, because he lived in South Africa."
Pakistan, like England, have never won the Champions Trophy.
In Group A, Pakistan meet defending champions Australia, India and the West Indies. South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England form Group B.
Pakistan play their first match against the West Indies on September 23 before squaring off against India three days later. Their last game is against Australia on September 30.
