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BRISBANE Pakistan are approaching Friday's opening game of the five-match One-day International series against Australia here at the Gabba as a fresh start.
The ruins of the tourists' 3-0 Test series drubbing may still be smouldering, but they count for nothing according to Younis Khan, the highest profile of Pakistan's reinforcements for the one-dayers — all of them day-night matches — and one Twenty20 International.
“This team is different,” former captain Younis said on Thursday while preparing for the series opener. “When we lose a couple of games we have fought back [and] in the one-dayers, I think things will start over.”
The injection of Younis, flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan certainly gives the touring squad a stronger look.
Younis is refreshed after taking time out to be with his family over the past couple of months while Afridi and Naved are battle-hardened from their contributions as import players in the Australian domestic Twenty20 tournament.
Man-of-the-Match in the South Australia Redbacks' opening Twenty20 victory with 4-19 against the Western Australia Warriors in Perth last month, Afridi was a catalyst for his team's charge to the final.
And medium-pacer Naved was the leading wicket-taker in the competition after four rounds with 11 wickets at 11.89 from four outings for Tasmania Tigers which included a sensational hat-trick against Redbacks in Adelaide.
Most of Pakistan players would be reeling from the snub that the Indian Premier League gave them and this will mean that the likes of Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal, will look to make the games count.
For all the tourists' renewed confidence, however, the hosts are entitled to favouritism.
They've secured series victories in all of their ODI campaigns since April last year — against Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, over England in England, at the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and against India in India.
And the clear superiority they've demonstrated over Pakistan in the five-day arena over the past month carries weight for the Australians, even if the tourists are playing it down.
Mindful of the Twenty20 final between Redbacks and Victoria Bushrangers scheduled for Saturday, Australia's selectors have named a squad of 12 for Friday's opening clash and the second in Sydney on Sunday.
In previous campaigns, the selectors have named squads of 13 or 14 for the ODIs and declined all requests for players to be released for domestic duty.
Teams (from)
AUSTRALIA Ricky Ponting (captain), Doug Bollinger, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Michael Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Clint McKay, Peter Siddle, Shane Watson, Cameron White.
PAKISTAN Mohammad Yousuf (captain), Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Imran Farhat, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Shoaib Malik, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Aamir, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Mohammad Asif.—Agencies
