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| February 02, 2007 | Friday | Muharram 13, 1428 |
Inzamam in doubt for Twenty20 tie
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 1: Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is doubtful for the Twenty20 International against South Africa on Friday which precedes the five-match One-day International series starting in Centurion on Sunday.
Vice-captain Younis Khan told reporters on Thursday that Inzamam was still battling the back problem which kept him off the field for most of the last day of the final Test against South Africa in Cape Town last weekend. South Africa won the series 2-1.“Inzamam was here at training, but he is still struggling with his back problem. It's improving, but he is still only 50-50,” Younis said.
Pakistan may be relative novices when it comes to Twenty20 international cricket but, if the cavalier Younis is to be believed, they will bring a dashing approach to their match at the Wanderers on Friday.
“We have played just the one match together for Pakistan, when we beat England, but Twenty20 is a good game in which all things are done quickly,” he said.
“It is a crowd game, for those spectators who don't get the chance to watch Test cricket or the One-day Internationals. I want to do something for them, so I will face four or five balls and then bang, bang.”
Pakistan will welcome back all-rounders Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, all of whom missed the Test series defeat to South Africa, and, Shoaib Akhtar apart, are likely to field much the same team who hammered England by five wickets with 13 balls to spare last August.
“Razzaq, Shoaib and Afridi are all big names and good one-day players and it will be good for them to get a run before the one-day series,” Younis said. “Afridi has the habit of playing one-day cricket in Tests, so tomorrow he will probably hit a ball in the changing room a bit and then go out and hit the first ball straightaway."
South African captain Graeme Smith said he viewed the Pakistanis as an excellent limited-overs team. “They're a fantastic team and they are very talented. They have good one-day skills in both batting and bowling, and particularly in the death and up-front areas. Plus they have some really big hitters, so we're going to have to make sure we're on top of our game.”
South Africa will rest all-rounders Jacques Kallis and Andrew Hall, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and pace bowlers Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Charl Langeveldt.—Agencies
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