July 3, 2009

Younis Khan, the Pakistan captain, has expressed confidence in his batsmen's ability to tackle the wiles of spinner Ajantha Mendis in the three-Test series starting at Galle on Saturday. Younis said his batsmen's familiarisation with Mendis is only not because the two teams have played each other often in the past year or so, but also because Pakistanis are used to playing spin at home.

"We have a lot of offspinners, left-arm spinners and legspinners," Younis said. "The wickets are similar to Pakistan. Although there is more grip on the Sri Lankan pitches, all pitches are flat. Why Sri Lanka and Pakistan are meeting each other so often is because of their good relationship. Both teams know each other's weaknesses. Because of our nature we compete with each other very well."

Younis lamented the abrupt ending to the last Test series between the two countries in Pakistan early this year. "It was turning out to be a nice series at that time especially the first Test when Sri Lanka scored something like 600 and we scored 700. That was a crucial time for us. I was the new captain and we had introduced a couple of youngsters. There was no need for this kind of ending, especially that Lahore incident. We will start where we finished off in Lahore. It's good for both teams."

Younis said he would miss Muttiah Muralitharan who has been ruled out of the series with a leg injury. "The last series I played against Murali, I pulled my hamstring stretching all the way trying to play him for two days. He is a fantastic bowler. Whenever Murali is under pressure he talks to you. When I scored 300 in Karachi he talked to me all the time chatting and laughing. I will miss him."

Younis stated that he always wanted to be positive and would go to the Test with three fast bowlers. "For the spinners' place I have the option of playing either Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria or Saeed Ajmal."

"Pakistan has not been playing a lot of Test cricket in the last few years. It's a good chance if one team can hold its nerves and win. The last series was close when suddenly we took five wickets. This wicket looks a good track, harder than the one at Karachi. It depends on the first session. If you have a good start you have a good chance of winning. It depends on how the batsmen and bowlers react to the wicket. Its 50-50 for both teams."
Playing Mendis won't be tough - Younis | Cricket News | Sri Lanka v Pakistan 2009 | Cricinfo.com

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Go for Ajmal.

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Go for Saeed Ajmal.

3 fast bowlers in SL in not an attacking option

ajaml

I say pick 4 fast bowlers.
1.Malik
2.Butta
3.Younis
4.Yousuf
5.Misbah
6.Alam
7.Abdul Razzaq
8.Abdur Rauf
9.Umar Gul
10.Mohammad Aamer
11.Saeed Ajmal

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I think he will go for Ajmal then..to be honest I'm a bit surprised about this move of going only with one spinner into the Test matches as it is difficult to drop Kaneria and ignore Ajmal. This could also mean that Fawad Alam plays..I mean because why would he want to have 4 pacers? Or Malik can play at 7 as well but I don't think Malik will play because his place is in the middle order or at the opening position..Also, Fawad deserves a fair chance after 2 years of travelling with the team and hardly playing...This is the probable eleven then:

Butt
Manzoor
Younus
Yousuf
Misbah
Akmal
Razzaq/Fawad
Rauf
Gul
Aamir
Ajmal

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i thought the tracks in SL favour spin, so i would be tempted to put in 2 spinners

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Go 4 Saeed Ajmal
Ajmal is the best for DOsra

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I think he will play Fawad and Ajmal. Malik's batting hasnt been splendid, while Fawad played well in the warm-up. I'm interested in seeing Abdur Rauf play--havent seen him play before.

Wow - Younus is in a fix..

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"In this short life, there's no time to waste on giving up...."

Originally Posted by blinding light

Wow - Younus is in a fix..

Yea.. but out of those three choices whom would you go with? Malik?

I'd go with Ajmal, but I think Younis will choose Kaneria.

Originally Posted by OmaIR

Yea.. but out of those three choices whom would you go with? Malik? I'd go with Ajmal, but I think Younis will choose Kaneria.

Nope - Ajmal..

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"In this short life, there's no time to waste on giving up...."

We should have 2 spinners. Obviously he'll choose Kaneria [safest solution] but Ajmal has its role too.

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danish kaneria

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