PCB declines to comment on Grant Flower’s claims about Younis Khan

In a podcast, Flower said Younis had once held a knife to his throat after receiving unwanted advice.

Younis Khan is the current batting coach of the national team.

The Pakistan Cricket Board and the national team have refused to comment on claims made by Grant Flower, the team’s former batting coach, on Thursday. During a cricket podcast in which he discussed his five-year stint with Pakistan, Flower claimed Younis Khan, the middle-order batsman, had once held a knife to his throat after receiving unwanted advice.

Younis is the current batting coach of the Pakistan team.

A well-informed source in the PCB told PTI that the incident was just a friendly banter on the breakfast table in Brisbane during Pakistan’s tour of Australia in 2016. “But the impression being spread by Grant Flower is not entirely true. Younis apparently had jokingly picked up the butter knife and waved it around telling Grant to just let him have his breakfast and not give advice at the breakfast table,” the source said.

‘Salt and pepper’

Younis is unlikely to comment on the incident, the source said. He said it was sad to see former coaches and support staff disclose confidential information in public once their contracts ended. “And they also tend to add salt and pepper to incidents to grab headlines.”

The media manager of the Pakistan squad, which is currently in Worcestershire, England, said there would be no comments on the matter for now.

Younis, who retired in 2017, is the only batsman from Pakistan to score more than 10,000 runs in Test cricket.