Younis claims to be Yorkshire captain

Younis Khan: 'Yorkshire have made me an offer to be their captain for next season' © AFP

A day after resigning the Pakistan captaincy ahead of the Champions Trophy, Younis Khan has claimed he has been offered the role at Yorkshire for the next English season. Younis, who was named as a stand-in for Inzamam-ul-Haq following his four-match suspension, stood down on Thursday stating he didn't want to be a 'dummy captain'.

However, in his column for the bigstarcricket website he claims to have been approached by Yorkshire to replace Darren Lehmann, who retired from county cricket at the end of the recent season.

"I know everyone must be wanting to know what is going on and why I gave up the captaincy on Thursday but I really just want to focus on the ICC Champions Trophy at the moment and on performing well for my country, scoring runs and trying to win the competition.

"There has been another more pleasing subject that has happened to me this week, which I am happier to talk about...Yorkshire have made me an offer to be their captain for next season.

"They first contacted me through Ramiz Raja when I was at Cardiff while playing for Pakistan in the first one-day international against England. The talks have been ongoing since then and I am pleased to say that I have agreed their terms and conditions and hopefully the contract will be completed next week.

But Yorkshire refused to confirm that they are so close to sealing a deal with Younis. Stewart Regan, the chief executive, said: "Yorkshire are keen to look for a replacement for Darren Lehmann. Younis is one of the people we are talking to."

Younis, though, is fairly convinced that he will be at Headingley next summer and is already taking about the privilege of leading the club. "It will be an honour to follow these cricketers and play at Headingley, especially as the captain. The club said they like my energy and the way I have captained in the past so hopefully we can be good for each other."

However, he refused to elaborate on the reasons for abandoning the Pakistan captaincy, which has now been handed to Mohammad Yousuf.

"These last few days have been very difficult for me but I don't want to go into my reasons for doing what I did at this stage," he added. There will be a time to say more about what has gone on but now is not right and I need to get on with my job.

"I love representing my country and will continue to give 200 per cent to them and my team-mates. That shouldn't be doubted."