'We dedicate this victory to Bob Woolmer'

If winning the World Cup was not a shock enough for Pakistan fans, a bigger one followed when captain Younis Khan decided to call it quits right after winning the ICC World Twenty20.

"This is my last Twenty20 game and I retiring from Twenty20 internationals," Younis said at Lord's on Sunday after Pakistan won their first Twenty20 World Cup outclassing Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final.

"I am 31 and I think I am old now for this cricket. The good thing is that we have a couple of youngsters like Shahzaib Hasan, Ahmed Shehzad and Fawad Alam," he added.

The Pakistan captain also choose the occasion to dedicate the victory to former coach and mentor Bob Woolmer, who died during the 2007 50-over World Cup in West Indies.

"Straightaway this final victory must go to Bob Woolmer because he was doing a good job with us, especially with my cricket. He would have been very proud if he was alive today and sitting with me. He was a very nice guy and like a father figure for us at that time, so all the credit goes to Woolmer," he said.

Younis still vividly remembers how Woolmer pushed with the Pakistan Cricket Board to have him named as the Pakistan captain.

"The reason I am the captain today is because he is the guy who, even though I was not regular for Pakistan, was always telling the [PCB] chairman and selectors that Younis will be the next captain. It was because of him that I became the vice-captain then, so I dedicate this final to him."

The 31-year-old skipper said it was a dream come true to win Pakistan's first World Cup after Imran Khan performed the feat 17 years back.

"It was one my dreams to win this World Cup. We won our last World Cup in 1992 under Imran Khan and he is my hero. All the time I used to dream about winning the World Cup and thinking that I should have been in the 1992 team too and today I am also happy to have won a World Cup," he said.

Younis also showered rich praise on all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who anchored the run chase with a mature innings of 54 in 40 deliveries to go along with his fine bowling spell of one for 20.

"We lost to Australia in the 1999 World Cup final, so this me, Shahid [Afridi] and [Abdul] Razzaq chatted to the guys and told them this time we will hold our nerves. It was suprising batting from Afridi because he was taking singles and doubles. [Umar] Gul was fantastic with the ball and so was Afridi," he said.

Younis is also pleasantly surprised as to how two Asian teams have made it to the two Twenty20 World Cup finals, despite conditions being different from the sub-continent.

"We were very close at that time in 2007. We never thought then that two Asian teams would qualify for the final in South Africa because the condition is not suitable for Asian batsmen. Suddenly we were in the World Cup final and it was a close match. Again, I am surprised that Asian teams are again in the World Cup because we play a different style of cricket."