Story ProgressBack to home
Younus looks for redemption against New Zealand
Younus Khan will be seeking redemption when he leads Pakistan against New Zealand in an ODI starting next week on neutral grounds in the UAE.
- Associated Press
- Updated: October 26, 2009 11:25 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Islamabad:
Pakistan went down to New Zealand in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy in South Africa, a loss which almost cost him his career.
"New Zealand did very well in the Champions Trophy and I hope we could avenge our defeat by playing as a team against them," Younus said.
He faced some harsh criticism _ including from his own parliamentarians _ following back-to-back losses to Australia and New Zealand to finish the Champions Trophy.
He tried to quit as captain soon after meeting with the members of lower house's standing committee on sports, which cleared Pakistan team of match-fixing allegations.
The Pakistan Cricket Board last week reinstated Younus as captain through the World Cup 2011 after rejecting his resignation.
He will be lead Pakistan in the one-day and Test series against the New Zealanders, while Shahid Afridi will be the captain for the two Twenty20 games in Dubai.
The three ODIs and the T20 matches will be held in the United Arab Emirates, then the teams fly to New Zealand for a Test series.
Younus said New Zealand's strength was its teamwork, and his Pakistani lineup needed to take its cue from that.
"If you look at the New Zealand squad it is one of the three teams along with Sri Lanka and Australia who play well as a unit," Younus told reporters in the southern port city of Karachi.
New Zealand lost the Champions Trophy to defending champion and top-ranked Australia.
Pakistan will leave for Abu Dhabi on Friday for the start of the ODI series.
"The (playing) conditions will be similar for both teams in the UAE so there will be no advantage or disadvantage for any team," Younus said. "What matters will be that we have to play as a team to beat them."
Younus Khan will be seeking redemption when he leads Pakistan against New Zealand in a limited-overs series starting next week on neutral grounds in the United Arab Emirates.Pakistan went down to New Zealand in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy in South Africa, a loss which almost cost him his career.
"New Zealand did very well in the Champions Trophy and I hope we could avenge our defeat by playing as a team against them," Younus said.
He faced some harsh criticism _ including from his own parliamentarians _ following back-to-back losses to Australia and New Zealand to finish the Champions Trophy.
He tried to quit as captain soon after meeting with the members of lower house's standing committee on sports, which cleared Pakistan team of match-fixing allegations.
The Pakistan Cricket Board last week reinstated Younus as captain through the World Cup 2011 after rejecting his resignation.
He will be lead Pakistan in the one-day and Test series against the New Zealanders, while Shahid Afridi will be the captain for the two Twenty20 games in Dubai.
The three ODIs and the T20 matches will be held in the United Arab Emirates, then the teams fly to New Zealand for a Test series.
Younus said New Zealand's strength was its teamwork, and his Pakistani lineup needed to take its cue from that.
"If you look at the New Zealand squad it is one of the three teams along with Sri Lanka and Australia who play well as a unit," Younus told reporters in the southern port city of Karachi.
New Zealand lost the Champions Trophy to defending champion and top-ranked Australia.
Pakistan will leave for Abu Dhabi on Friday for the start of the ODI series.
"The (playing) conditions will be similar for both teams in the UAE so there will be no advantage or disadvantage for any team," Younus said. "What matters will be that we have to play as a team to beat them."
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket Sreesanth
Get the Latest IPL 2024 Updates, check out IPL 2024 schedules and IPL points table at NDTV Sports.Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more sports updates. You can also download the NDTV Cricket app for Android or iOS.