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KARACHI: Pakistan will start their Test
series against Sri Lanka on Saturday riding the wave of
a feel-good factor after winning the World Twenty20.
When Pakistan won the championship in England last month,
the victory renewed the country's passion for the game,
which had plummeted after an attack on the Sri Lankan team
in March wiped out hopes of international cricket being
played there again.
There were fears that, with no more international cricket
in Pakistan, the sport would die a slow death, but captain
Younus Khan hopes the tourists can build on their Twenty20
success when the five-day three-Test series begins.
"I hope this series will be very interesting and we
play positive cricket to win it," he told newsmen from
Sri Lanka.
"It is very important that the interest generated by
the T20 success back home is maintained during the Test
series, which is the real form of the game," said Younus.
"Interest in cricket was waning after the attacks on
the Sri Lankan team," said former captain Zaheer Abbas,
nicknamed the Asian Bradman during his playing days for
his superlative batting.
"The situation was gloomy but the Twenty20 success
was the much-needed tonic for the people of Pakistan and
they are now keenly waiting for the Test series against
Sri Lanka," said Abbas.
Opener Shahzaib Hasan, a member of Pakistan's Twenty20 team
but not selected for the Tests, said that he and the rest
of his family will be glued to their television sets.
"I hope I will get a place in the one-day team after
the Tests, but I feel part of the team as I will watch Test
matches on television and pray for my team," said Hasan,
whose family has found new entertainment in cricket.
SQUAD: Pakistan (from): Younus Khan (capt), Salman Butt,
Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib
Malik, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer,
Danish Kaneria, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rauf, Fawad Alam, Faisal
Iqbal.
Sri Lanka (from): Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Malinda Warnapura,
Tharanga Paranavitana, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera,
Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera,
Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, Suraj Mohamed, Thilan Thushara,
Nuwan Kulasekera, Dhammika Prasad, Kaushal Silva, Suranga
Lakmal.—Agency |
