DUBAI, (Reuters) – Pakistan skipper Younis Khan  wants his players to stay positive and cash in on being fresher  than Australia in their five-match one-day series in the United  Arab Emirates from April 22.

Pakistan have been forced to play their home series in Dubai  and Abu Dhabi with security concerns at home heightened after  gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore on March 3.

Pakistan did not play any home test last year as teams  refused to tour due to safety fears and have not played  international cricket since six Sri Lankan players were injured  in the ambush while being driven to the stadium for the third  day of the second test.

“It was really tough for the Sri Lankans,” Younis told  reporters yesterday. “They are still suffering from the trauma.  We’re also shocked because our bus was just 500 metres behind  them. This is tragic for cricket and tragic for sports.”

Australia will arrive in the UAE having lost the one-day  series to South Africa.

Hosts South Africa lead 3-1 in the series with the final  game to be played on Friday.

Skipper Ricky Ponting, batsman Mike Hussey and in-form  paceman Mitchell Johnson have also been rested to give them a  deserved break. “I will tell my team we have not played international  cricket and if we can put our pent up energy to use, we can  surely beat Australia,” Younis said.

“Australia have just lost their series in South Africa. They  have played back-to-back matches, so don’t you think they will  be a bit tired when they come here?”

Younis urged his players to show commitment and warned them  not to take Australia lightly despite the absence of key  players.

“Australia will be arriving here on April 18, so we have  four days before that and it will be a good opportunity for us  to get used to the conditions.”

MORE IN Sports


Reader Comments »

The Comments section is intended to provide a forum for reasoned and reasonable debate on the newspaper's content and is an extension of the newspaper and what it has become well known for over its history: accuracy, balance and fairness.
  • We reserve the right to edit/delete comments which contain attacks on other users, slander, coarse language and profanity, and gratuitous and incendiary references to race and ethnicity.
  • We moderate ALL comments, so your comment will not be published until it has been reviewed by a moderator.
  • Our Comments are powered by the Disqus service. You may comment as a Guest by entering your comment and selecting "Post as". Optionally, you may sign-in using your Facebook, Yahoo or Twitter Accounts.

    Disqus' Privacy Policy can be read here. Please read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.