November 02, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 20, 1428

LAHORE, Nov 1: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik on Thursday said the forthcoming series against India was a tough one for his men but they were ready to play positive cricket and were prepared to fight till the end.

“Our team is quite a balanced outfit and we will try our best to get better results in India and not to repeat the mistakes we made in the home series against South Africa,” Shoaib told Dawn before the departure of the 15-member Pakistan squad to India on Thursday. Pakistan will be playing five one-day games and three Test matches on the challenging tour.

“An improved performance is of utmost importance to us compared to winning or losing and we are eager to play to our full potential in India,” said the all-rounder.

Asked to compare the two teams for the series, Malik said India had a definite advantage of playing under home conditions but the Pakistan players were aware of that and were aiming to excel in the series . Commenting on the last-minute withdrawal of fast bowler Mohammad Asif due to elbow problem, Malik said: “Despite losing a key bowler like Asif, our morale is still high and we will be looking to make the most of our available resources in the ODI contest.”

Shoaib, on his third assignment as captain since April, 2007, said he had no idea what kind of pitches his team would be encountering in India.

“At the moment I have no idea about the sort of wickets that will be prepared for matches there,” said Malik. “But soon after reaching India, our first job will be to get a fair idea about the playing conditions which will help us in deciding the playing eleven.”

He singled out all-rounder Yuvraj Singh as the most dangerous player in the Indian side and added that Pakistan had worked out a strategy to counter his aggressive style of batting.

Replying to a question regarding the problematic opening pair slot, Malik said he was willing to try different combinations depending on the situation of the game.

He also backed controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar to play a vital role in the series. “It could be Shoaib’s last tour of India and since he is an asset for the team, we expect him to play a vital role in the series although he is likely to miss his new ball partner Asif in some of the games.”

He negated the impression that he was under any pressure after the appointment of senior player Younis Khan as his deputy. “The PCB has consulted me over the appointment of Younis and I totally approve of it since he is a seasoned campaigner with a sharp mind,” he said.

Meanwhile, commenting on the frequent changes in vice-captain’s position, PCB’s Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Naghmi said the board had decided to appoint the skipper’s deputy on a series-to-series basis. However, when reminded that Salman was named vice captain till December, he said he had no idea.

Squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Younis Khan (vice-captain), Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Abdul Rehman, Rao Iftikhar.