JAMSHEDPUR, India, 9 April 2005 — Pakistan vice captain Younis Khan is set to return for the third One-Day International against India in this eastern city today. The 27-year-old batsman, who scored 508 runs in the drawn three-Test series which ended last month, missed the first two one-day games due to a fever.
“I’m fully fit now, there is no problem,” Younis told reporters yesterday. “We’ll decide the final playing 11 in the team meeting this evening or maybe even tomorrow morning.” Younis could replace Shoaib Malik or all rounder Mohammad Hafeez.
Pakistan, trailing the six-match series 2-0, are toying with the idea of dropping paceman Mohammad Sami for Rao Iftikhar.
Sami, who came to India as Pakistan’s pace spearhead in the absence of the injured Shoaib Akhtar, has had a disappointing one-day series, taking a combined one for 107 in the first two matches.
Leg spinner Danish Kaneria could also get a look in after sitting out the games in Cochin and Visakhapatnam, where Pakistan fielded the same teams. The Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur, in the eastern state of Jharkhand, is the home ground of India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Dhoni. Vice captain Rahul Dravid said the team hoped that Dhoni, man-of-the-match in Visakhapatnam after his blistering 148, would deliver before his home fans.
“He performed brilliantly at number three in the last match. Psychologically he’s in a good frame of mind, so there’s no reason why he can’t do well again,” Dravid said. India are without paceman Lakshmipathy Balaji due to a side strain. Irfan Pathan or Ajit Agarkar will replace him.
Flintoff Backs Himself to
Be Fit for Ashes
In Manchester, England, Andrew Flintoff said here yesterday he was on course to be fully fit for the start of the Ashes Test series against Australia which gets underway in July.
The Lancashire and England all-rounder, widely regarded as vital to the Test side’s hopes of ending a run of eight straight Ashes series defeats, underwent surgery on his left ankle in February which prevented him playing in the one-day series in South Africa.
Flintoff, 27, has since being following a rehabilitation program at Lancashire devised by the Old Trafford club’s physisotherapist.
