KARACHI, April 8: Pakistan vice-captain, Younis Khan hinted on Saturday that he may play county cricket before his team's three-month tour to England this year. Younis, who made an unbeaten 73 in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Kandy, said that he had been offered a short stint by three English counties, including Lancashire, and was looking forward to the challenge.

“I won't be just resting for two months before we get to England. I have been told that there are about three counties interested in signing me, with Lancashire being the biggest club,” Younis said.

Younis was of the view that the two-month spell in county cricket before the tour will be a good experience as it will help to get acclimatized to the unfamiliar English pitches after batting for six months on the slower-paced sub-continent pitches.

The vice captain was naturally jubilant at Pakistan’s third successive Test series win while terming the latest series triumph against Sri Lanka as probably the best.

“I'm feeling very happy after our win in Sri Lanka, which was our third Test series win in a row,” he said. “In my personal opinion, defeating Sri Lanka was very satisfying because the conditions there were quite difficult to play cricket.

Younis said that his match-winning knock in the Kandy Test came after inspiration he got from watching Damien Martyn's century a night before that led Aussies to victory against South Africa.

“He (Martyn) ended up with a hundred and helped Australia win the match. It made me think that I should go about my innings like Martyn did and play a good knock for my team. I'm a very big fan of Martyn as well as Rahul Dravid.”

He opined that inclusion of Shoaib Akhtar for the English tour would be an added advantage for Pakistan otherwise the chances are 50-50 for both the teams as it was not easy to beat England in England.

“The teams start as 50-50 equals but if Shoaib comes back as fit as he was against England in the home series last year. The signs are he will and it it happens then I think out chances of victory are very bright.

“We already have a good balanced team and Shoaib will make a big difference when he comes back,” Younis added. —PPI