Jamaica Police deny treating Inzy's boys like criminals

Jamaican Police, it's deputy commissioner Mark Shields to be precise, have vehemently denied treating Pakistani cricketers like criminals.

Younis Khan had recently alleged that he and his fellow team mates went through a nightmarish stay in the Caribbean where they were knocked out of the World Cup by Ireland and then had to go through humiliations following the murder of coach Bob Woolmer in a Kingston hotel.

"At one stage I got so angry with the way we were being treated I told the Jamaican authorities we are international cricketers not criminals," Younis said

The Pakistani players were grilled, finger-printed and had to give their DNA samples before leaving the Caribbean.

Shields, however, dismissed the allegation, saying ""Nothing could be further than the truth," and added "We had 100 per cent cooperation from the Pakistan team."

The top cop also announced that Police had received the toxicology results in the Bob Woolmer murder case but said they needed time to analyse the reports before reaching a conclusion.

Younis Khan, the wounded Pathan, shies away from captaincy

(Younis heckled at airport on return from Caribbean)

Stung by vitriol from all corners, a livid Younis Khan has rejected Pakistan’s captaincy, saying the humiliation is not worth it. He’s even planning to quit ODI and play only Test matches.

“I told them 'thank you for the offer but I am not interested, especially after the way the team has been treated after the World Cup'," Younis.

One can understand his state of the troubled mind. There world came crashing down in the World Cup. They first lost to Ireland to crash out of the event and then lost their coach Bob Woolmer.

What followed is a long rigmarole of humiliation. They were treated like criminals, were forced to stay back even though their World Cup dream was over. They were grilled, finger-printed and then had swab forced into their mouth to collect DNA samples.

Younis admits at one stage, he yelled at the police authorities, asking them not to treat the players like murderers. “We were treated as criminals, as if we had murdered Woolmer.”
The anger is understandable for Younis was especially fond of the late Woolmer. Younis used to call Woolmer’s wife, Gill, mom and they treated the player as their third son.
Things proved equally bad for Younis when he returned home after the horrendous week in the West Indies.

“Bring a donkey for him and ask him to sit on it and roam him around the city,'” one of the angry fans at Karachi International Airport shouted when Younis had arrived from London. A furious Younis had to be escorted to home by friends and family members.

But they could not keep the player away from harsh jokes and television spoof telecast round the clock.

"Losing and winning is part of the game but when your family is not spared and gets threatening calls and people abuse and insult you on returning to the country, then the captaincy is not worth it," said Younis, Inzamam-ul Haq’s heir apparent for two years.

"It was humiliating to see musicians and actors making fun of us and of our services to Pakistan cricket on television,” said the Pathan.

Not the ideal homecoming for the Men in Green

So finally Inzamam and his teammates are flying home back and how!

“Bring a donkey for him and ask him to sit on it and roam him around the city,” one of the irate fans yelled, which evidently left Younis Khan red in the face after he had landed on the Karachi International Airport late Monday.

Mohd Younis, witnesses said, had his face partially covered by a scarf and he didn’t come out of the airport at all. Instead, he boarded a connecting flight to Lahore. Rest of his teammates are in two minds – whether to return now or wait for the seething anger to die down.

A horror movie script could not have been more horrible. The team first lost a match, then its coach and finally it’s regular captain. And what followed was sheer nightmare.

They were interrogated like petty criminals, had inks on their finger after being fingerprinted, had swabs forced into their mouth for DNA samples and then they almost got detained! Now that they have survived every possible humiliation just to return to the warmth of their family and friends, suddenly that very idea seems the most insulting of them all.

Cricket has never been more cruel to any side.