A disgruntled Younis Khan resigned as Pakistan cricket captain on Tuesday despite being cleared by a parliamentary sports committee on charges of match-fixing in the Champions Trophy. Khan told the lower house's standing committee on sports that he was upset over the charges and that "I cannot take this." Khan handed a resignation letter to Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt, but did not say whether he would continue playing on the team. "I have resigned as a captain," he told reporters. "I won't say a word more." Jamshed Dasti, the chairman of the sports committee, had alleged that Pakistan had deliberately lost the last two games in the Champions Trophy - including the semifinal against New Zealand. However, the committee cleared the team of any wrongdoing. Pakistan lost to Australia in its last group game, which left its big rival India with no chance of advancing. "It was all propaganda of the Indian media and there is no truth in Pakistan team's involvement in match-fixing or deliberately throwing the games," committee member Iqbal Mohammad Ali said. Butt said he was stunned by the decision. "I had absolutely no idea that he had the resignation letter in his jacket and I was surprised when he produced it," Butt said. Ali said Khan was wrong to be resign because of the hearing. "It's not the right thing to do," Ali said. "It's the right of the (sports) committee to inquire about sports activities in the country, Younis Khan is a great player and he should not have resigned." Pakistan is scheduled to play a one-day and test series against New Zealand next month before a tour in Australia. Former test cricketer Aamir Sohail said the PCB should try to convince Khan to come back. "We have two tough series ahead and I think the PCB should try and bring him back as the captain," Sohail told GEO Television. However, a PCB governing board member said Khan's resignation should be accepted with "immediate effect" because he committed too many mistakes during the Champions Trophy. "There should be no interim period and I think the PCB chairman should accept his resignation," Shakil Shaikh told the Assciated Press. "Younis Khan is a good player, but he is not a good captain. He should play as a team member." Khan was made captain earlier this year after Pakistan lost a one-day series 2-1 at home against Sri Lanka. He scored a triple century in his first test as regular captain against Sri Lanka at Karachi. Although Pakistan lost a one-day series to Australia in the United Arab Emirates in April-May, Khan went on to lead the side to win the Twenty20 World Cup in England. Khan, 31, has played 63 test matches and scored 5,260 runs. In 194 one-day internationals, the right-handed batsman has made 5,676 runs.
