They are the two strong pillars of the Pakistan team: Ahmed Shehzad

The third Test between Pakistan and West Indies will be the last one for the experienced duo of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, who have been the backbone and role model for the entire Pakistan team for the past many years.

Pakistan’s young talented opener, Ahmed Shehzad calls them pillars of Pakistan cricket and says that he will miss the time that he has spent with his two seniors.

“They are the two strong pillars of the Pakistan team. So I am going to miss everything they have given us, all small incidents in hotel rooms, on the field, in dressing rooms, all good and bad memories, wins and losses. Whatever we shared together all these years will be missed and remain in our hearts forever,” Shehzad told ESPNCricinfo.

The 25-year old has been emotional since they revealed their retirement plans, “This series will be an emotional series for all of us because these two players are the pride of our nation.”

Shehzad praised Misbah-ul-Haq for his captaincy and accredited him to take the Test side to the top of the ranking.

“Misbah, similarly, has been phenomenal. He took the team to the No. 1 position after things were so bad when he got the captaincy. Since then, the way he led the side is remarkable,” he said.

“Now after seven to eight years, he is saying goodbye to cricket, and that is a tough thing to swallow. His contribution will be remembered. Whenever we needed him, he would be there for us. I have learnt a lot from heart-to-heart talks with him and we are definitely going to miss him a lot,” he added.

Ahmed Shehzad recalled that the first Pakistani to get 10,000 Test runs advised him to self-believe, “The most important advice Younis gave was to be yourself, always believe, don’t try to hold back from taking risks because taking risks is something which takes you above everything. Life is all about taking risks and not being afraid,” he told.

He further told that Younis never disturbs while batting and encourages one to play with his own approach.

“While batting, Younis never disturbs you as he wants you to play according to your own plan. He doesn’t talk too much on the field but talks to you off the field instead,” he further said.