Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam said his players' fitness will be the key on their tour of Sri Lanka as the 15-man Pakistan team set off on Saturday. Alam, who led the team to the World Twenty20 title in England last week, warned that the biggest problem for the tourists will be the hot climate.
"Fitness is very important on the tough and long tour of Sri Lanka," said Alam before heading for Dubai and then Colombo. The tour comprises three Tests followed by five one-day matches and a Twenty20 international. The first Test starts in Galle on July 4 but Pakistan open the tour with a three-day match against a Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo from Monday.
"Sri Lanka will be hot and in such a climate your fitness is tested, so we have (put a stress) on fitness, which will play an important role," said the former leg-spinner and Pakistan captain. He said the series would be interesting as both teams have talent.
"Sri Lanka have quality spinners in (Muttiah) Muralitharan and (Ajantha) Mendis but our batting is good and I hope it will be up to the challenge of playing in the heat and against two world-class spinners," he said. Pakistan have been boosted by the return of star batsman Mohammad Yousuf, who broke his ties with the unrecognised Indian Cricket League (ICL), clearing the way for his return to the international fold.
The 34-year-old, who scored a world record 1,788 runs in 2006 - the most in a calendar year - joined the rebel league in protest over his removal from the national team for the first World Twenty20 two years ago. "I want to give a performance which cap my return to international cricket in a memorable manner," said Yousuf, whose last Test was in Bangalore in December 2007.
"It will be tough because when you play international cricket after a big gap its difficult, but I will do my best to play my part in the team's win against Sri Lanka, who are a very tough team on their home grounds." All-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who broke his ties with the ICL earlier this month, also makes a return and would be a certainty for the Tests as third seamer.
SQUAD: Younus Khan (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq (vice captain), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Faisal Iqbal, Mohammad Aamir, Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rauf. Coach: Intikhab Alam.
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