Yousuf announces retirement

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has announced his retirement from international cricket, following an indefinite ban imposed by the PCB in the aftermath of a winless tour of Australia.

"I received a letter from the PCB that my staying in the team is harmful for the team, so I announce my retirement from international cricket," he said in Karachi. "I thank the fans around the world, all the senior players and family members for supporting me throughout my 12-year career.

"I always played for my country and if my playing is harmful for the team then I don't want to play," he said.

Yousuf had, last week, said he was preparing to retire and that he would make a formal announcement today. He played 88 Tests, nine as captain and scored 7,431 runs at an average of 53.07, including 24 centuries. He also scored 9,624 runs in 282 one-day internationals.

Yousuf was among seven Pakistan players penalised, for various reasons, by the PCB. He and Younis Khan were handed indefinite bans, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were banned for a year while Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers were fined and placed on probation for six months.

The recommendations of an inquiry committee set up by the board to investigate why Pakistan lost every single one of the nine international matches in Australia over the turn of the year. Seven of those losses - three in Tests and four in ODIs - came under the leadership of Yousuf.

In their findings, the board blamed Yousuf for spreading infighting and indiscipline within the side and banned him for an indefinite period - along with Younis Khan - from all forms of the international game. He was subsequently not included in the central contracts list for this year