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Azharuddin Can be Reason For Younis Khan-Grant Flower Knife Episode, Says Rashid Latif

Latif said that after Younis scored a double ton at the Oval in 2016, he did not take the name of Flower and instead cited Azhar as the reason for the improvement in his batting.

After former Pakistan batting coach, Grant Flower – who was a part of the setup from 2014-2019 – raised a stir claiming former cricketer Younis Khan had raised a knife to his throat. Another former cricketer Rashid Latif has now revealed that ex-India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin was the reason behind Younis’ action.

“We do not know what happens in the dressing room. Azharuddin can be a reason for this,” said Latif in the chat show ”Caught Behind” on Youtube.

Latif said that after Younis scored a double ton at the Oval in 2016, he did not take the name of Flower and instead cited Azhar as the reason for the improvement in his batting. Latif feels that could have sparked the Younis-Flower knife episode.

“In 2016, Younis made a double century at the Oval. He (Younis) did not take the name of the batting coach (Grant Flower). He said that I was struggling and talked to Azharuddin.

“That is a big factor that a player is opting for someone else rather than the coach. Flower must have done some things as batting coach and has served Pakistan. I think this Azharuddin factor must have been somewhere in his (Flower’s) mind.”

Flower had said during a conversation with brother Andy and host Neil Manthorp on the ”Following On Cricket Podcast” for talkSPORT that it was coach Mickey Arthur who had to eventually intervene. Arthur himself later confirmed the incident while refusing to go into details.

“If I say something, people I know try to justify it. It is not Mickey Arthur”s fault,” said Latif. “The real focus should be the person who asked these questions and is still behind the scenes. It could also be an organization behind the whole thing. That is a possibility. If Younis came on because of a higher authority, he would not have come as a batting coach working under Misbah-ul-Haq. He would have been in a much more influential position,” he said.

 

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