Younus set for Surrey stint

Surrey moved for Younus Khan after they were foiled in their attempts to sign Piyush Chawla and Brian Lara

Surrey have announced the signing of former Pakistan captain Younus Khan as a replacement overseas player this summer.

He will help fill the void created by the news that leg-spinner Piyush Chawla will not be joining the club, while Surrey have also admitted defeat in their audacious attempt to tempt former West Indies batsman Brian Lara out of retirement.

Younus, 32, is currently serving an indefinite ban imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board for his role in “infighting” within the squad during their miserable tour of Australia earlier this year.

Providing he is granted a visa, he is expected to arrive at the Brit Oval within the next week and will stay until the middle of July.

Younus will be available for all competitions, and completes Surrey’s overseas quota for the Friends Provident t20, when he will line up alongside Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

Surrey professional cricket manager Chris Adams said: “I am confident that bringing a world-class player such as Younus Khan to Surrey will have a very positive effect on the side.

“As well as benefiting from the weight of runs we hope he will bring, we have a number of young batsman who will doubtless benefit greatly from being able to train and play alongside him.

“In terms of the FP t20, the experience and skills that saw him lead Pakistan to the ICC World Twenty20 title in 2009 are sure to greatly help us in our pursuit of the trophy.”

Surrey were forced to turn to Younus after Chawla, whose signing was Chawla set for Surrey stint, was refused permission to play county cricket by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The club also revealed that talks with Lara “have not come to fruition”.

Younus has scored 5,260 runs at an average of 50.09 in 63 Tests for Pakistan, and boasts 202 one-day international and 22 Twenty20 caps.