The ICC World Cup Carnival in the Caribbean was tragically called off on March 18, 2007, a day after Pakistan’s shock elimination from the showcase. Bob Woolmer, who was then Pakistan national team coach, was found unconscious in a hotel bathroom and later died in hospital. The former Pakistan manager was 58. The entire cricketing world was in mourning when Woolmer passed away.
Younis Khan, who was part of that disappointing 2007 World Cup team, has no doubt that Pakistan cricket would be very different today if Ulmer had remained head coach. Ulmer was found dead in a hotel room in Jamaica less than 24 hours after Pakistan’s elimination from the ICC World Cup, a disastrous defeat to underdogs Ireland that forced the Green Army into a premature withdrawal.
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“It was like torture for us.”
Younis said Ulmer would have taken Pakistan’s cricket team to a higher level. Speaking to Pakistani television, the former captain revealed that after Ulmer’s death, the players were moved to another island. Members of the Pakistan team were interrogated by local police for three days. “It was like torture for us. I fully understand the responsibilities that players have as ambassadors for the country, but it should be the other way around… the authorities should also look after us,” Younis recalled.
Disastrous World Cup defeat
The experience of the players in the Caribbean after Ulmer’s death changed Younis’s mind about leading Pakistan. Younis credited Ulmer with preparing him mentally for a long period of time leading Pakistan across formats. Inzamam-ul-Haq’s Pakistan team was beaten by Ireland in a low-scoring match in Kingston. Younis, Pakistan’s leading Test run-scorer, was dismissed for a three-ball duck in Ireland’s three-wicket win over the 1992 world champions.
“We didn’t sit together.”
“I was very close to Bob (Woolmer) and it was our routine to sit together after matches or the nets and discuss cricket. Unfortunately, on the night he passed away I wasn’t able to sit down with him as we had lost to Ireland. I was also looking to get dug out so I was pretty devastated. So I went and locked myself in my room. I didn’t see him at breakfast the next day and only found out about his death later,” Younis said.
