Pakistan captain Salman Butt insisted recalling Mohammad Yousuf was far from a miracle cure for the team's batting ills after its crushing 354-run first Test loss to England. Just hours after Pakistan was bowled out for 80 – its lowest Test score against England – at Trent Bridge, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed former skipper Yousuf had been added to the squad. The 35-year-old, a batsman with 7,431 Test runs to his name at an average of over 53, announced his retirement in March, having been handed an indefinite ban by the PCB after Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia where the team failed to win a single international match under his leadership. Butt, speaking before the PCB announced Yousuf's call-up, insisted the team as it stood could turn things round in the five days between its defeat by England at Trent Bridge Sunday and the start of the second of a four-Test series at Edgbaston Friday. The opening batsman said Pakistan had shown its resilience by winning the previous week's second Test against Australia by three wickets at Headingley, Butt's first match as captain, after days earlier losing by a huge 150 run-margin to Ricky Ponting's men at Lord's. Pakistan have now won just three out of their last 21 Tests and Butt said: “How many wins have Pakistan had with the people who were previously playing? In fact these guys (the current team) pulled off a victory after 15 years (against Australia). So people are not seeing the reality. We have to make people understand these are the guys for the future.” However, Butt was careful to avoid giving a direct answer when asked whether favored a recall for either Yousuf or Younus Khan, another ex-captain and experienced batsman who has been playing for English county Surrey this season. “To bring somebody in or to send somebody back is not in my hands. That is what the selectors are there for and it's for the board to decide.” Nevertheless, Butt stressed it was important for his novices to be given a fair chance. “I am just two games old (as a captain). We have won one and lost the other. What do you expect from them – win every game? That will not happen. “This is the time when you back your players. I know they can come back.” The PCB also announced leg-spinner Danish Kaneria had been released back to English county Essex after his lone wicket at Trent Bridge cost an expensive 171 runs. Former Pakistan Test players Monday criticized two of their cricket board's selections for the second Test, saying the decision would make the national team a “laughing stock.” Former captain Amir Sohail said the late inclusion of Hasan and Yousuf in the squad currently in England was a “knee-jerk” reaction. “Pakistan cricket will further become a laughing stock with these haphazard decisions,” Sohail said. Sohail said Yousuf had not been playing cricket for some months, and his form and fitness were unknown. Former chief selector and left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim said Kaneria's exit was “tragic and shabby.” “Kaneria is the second-best leg-spinner produced by Pakistan, after Abdul Qadir,” said Qasim, who blamed wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal for Kaneria's poor performance. He also termed Yousuf's recall as “one of the biggest jokes.” A man who was on the committee which suspended Yousuf indefinitely said PCB's decision to recall yousuf was all above board. “The PCB has used its discretion by selecting Yousuf in the national team,” lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi said. Rizvi was part of the inquiry committee which fined and suspended seven Pakistan cricketers, including Yousuf, for disciplinary and performance issues on a winless tour of Australia earlier this year. Yousuf was the only player among those who did not appeal the suspension, and later retired from international cricket. Rizvi said the inquiry committee had recommended to the PCB that Yousuf should not be selected in the national team “for the time being” due to his infighting with former captain Younus Khan. “It was not a life ban or anything like that,” Rizvi said. “If the PCB is now feeling that Yousuf is needed in the national team, they can select him.”
