Published: Feb 13, 2015, 10:59 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 09, 2015, 11:05 AM (IST)
Younis Khan chatted about Pakistan’s build-up to the ICC World Cup 2015 clash against India, handling pressure and the 1992 World Cup in a brief chat with Nishad Pai Vaidya.
Excerpts from an interview:
Criclife (CL): Younis, Pakistan have won both warm-up games. There was also a good win against England. How important are those victories for the Pakistan team?
Younis Khan (YK): Whenever one win matches or puts in good performances self-belief gets a boost as does motivation. The wins have motivated Pakistan and self-belief is high. We are thus going into the big games of the World Cup on a positive note.
CL: You’ve had great success against India. In Test cricket, your record is phenomenal, and in ODIs, you have those two tons in 300-plus chases. How do you manage to lift your game in such situations?
YK: I try to be calm. I try to lead from the front. Allah has been on my side. Whenever I have tried to be in the front in a pressure game, Allah has helped me. I hope it happens in the World Cup match. We have a history of not beating India in the World Cup and I hope it changes in this tournament.
CL: What is the secret behind that ever-smiling face, even in the most difficult situations?
YK: It is all about body language. Your body language should be positive. It is not that you perform every time. Whether I perform or not, I try to be calm and cool. I try to keep my body language positive. Perhaps, that is why people think I am quite happy.
CL: Finally, tell us about your memories of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup win. You were a youngster then…
YK: I was starting my cricket then [1992]. My school-college cricket was beginning then. I hope the way Imran Khan won the World Cup, we too are able to give such happiness to Pakistan cricket fans. If we win the World Cup, I don’t think there can be anything better to have happened in my career.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_45)
