Sports

KARACHI: Habib Bank received a huge fillip ahead of the RBS Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship final against Karachi Blues, starting at the National Stadium here on Monday, with the news that star Pakistan batsman Younis Khan is a definite starter.

Younis was a notable absentee from the bankers’ practice session on Sunday but according to team coach Liaquat Ali, the former Pakistan skipper will play after having publicly declared his availability for the all-important fixture during a press conference in Lahore on Friday.

‘This indeed is great news for us. Younis will play tomorrow despite missing the practice this afternoon. Having a cricketer of his stature can only boost our confidence of winning our first Quaid Trophy after a very long time,’ a beaming Liaquat, himself a former Test left-arm paceman, told Dawn on Sunday.

Younis has not played at all since leading Pakistan in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi and skipped the Test trip to New Zealand at his personal request. Subsequently he remained untraceable and was not selected in the Test squad for Australia after failing to play in the premier domestic championship.