Afridi is Malik's next victim, says Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf has accused Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik of engineering his and Abdul Razzaq's ouster from the national team and said that allrounder Shahid Afridi would be the next victim.

Mohammad Yousuf has accused Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik of engineering his and Abdul Razzaq's ouster from the national team and said that allrounder Shahid Afridi would be the next victim.

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Speaking on a television talk show, Yousuf claimed Malik was working on a policy of ousting senior players in the team as he didn't want any challenge remaining to his captaincy or place in the side.

"He created conditions with the assistance of the selectors for Razzaq and me to join the Indian Cricket League as he didn't want us in the team. His next target is now Shahid Afridi," Yousuf said.

Yousuf also said that after the World Cup in 2007 when Inzamam-ul-Haq resigned as captain and Younis Khan had refused the captaincy, the Board should have appointed a senior player.

"I was the senior most player and deserved a shot at the captaincy. But the Board didn't even take senior players into confidence before appointing Malik as captain," Yousuf said.

He said it was unfortunate that the Board ignored his credentials while giving Malik this honour although his place in the team was not confirmed.